Someone Like You
by The Flavor of the Weak
Summary: Kate thinks she's got everything figured out at Hogwarts. Everything is the way she expects and wants it to be. That is, until the infuriating–and disturbingly handsome–Cedric Diggory starts meddling with her plans...and her heart.
1. Just Kate

Disclaimer: I own Cds and hot chocolate. That is all.

A/N: So, my lovelies...another story begins! Er...please don't despair. I know I am bad at finishing my stories. But please, bear with me. I am still working on Learning to Breathe and The Girl From New York. But I am going on another streak of fandom, so here is my way to get it out of my system. Yes, yes. So, err...read and review. Please?

He he. I bought a Lost 2006 Calendar. It's going to be June all year! -posts sexy Josh Holloway picture on the wall-

Er...on with the story. Ahem.

Summary: Kate thinks she's got everything figured out for herself at Hogwarts. She has great friends, she is a smart student, a member of Gryffindor, and has even won more-than-a-friend attention from one Harry Potter. That is, until the infuriating–and disturbingly handsome–Cedric Diggory starts meddling with her plans...and her heart.

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Someone Like You

Chapter One: Just Kate

"The great thing in this world is not so much where you stand, as in what direction you are moving." -Oliver Wendell Holmes

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"Oh, Katie, our little honey...will you be okay?" Meredith, Kate's mother, asked.

"Yes, Kath, anything else you need?" John, Kate's father, joined in.

Kate rolled her eyes. "Mama! Papa! It's not like it's the first day of school. I can handle going to a different school. I'm almost sixteen!" she protested.

The three of them were standing on platform nine and three-quarters outside of the Hogwarts express. It was Kate's first time to Hogwarts. She had just moved to London from Madrid, where she had been previously attending the Magnifico School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in southern Spain.

She was a born Spaniard, with dark curly hair and livid blue eyes as deep as the sea. She had sharp, attractive features and was medium height, unlike her brother, who was 21 and only 5'4".

There were dozens of students of all ages running about them, both trying to get away from their parents and catch up with their friends. Kate glanced at them as they all kept going by. Surely, if they were so excited, it couldn't be so bad...

Kate suddenly lost her air. Her parents had grabbed her in a huge hug, literally suffocating her.

"Mum!...Dad! You're embarrassing me!" Kate squeezed out.

They let her go, stepping back awkwardly. Kate hoped no one had seen that. She needed to make a good first impression if she wanted to make friends.

Her eyes dashed about nervously as Meredith and John smiled at her. "Mi chica...sea verdad a usted mismo." Meredith muttered in Spanish. It meant "My girl...be true to yourself." She looked away. She was deeply saddened every time they said goodbye to Kate. It was like losing part of herself for 10 months, and it tore her apart inside.

John bent over and put his strong hands on Kate's shoulders. "La buena suerte, my hija." He said quietly to her. It meant "Good luck, my daughter."

Kate knew after her first year how her parents always gave her advice before she left for school. Despite the fact that it seemed overplayed and predictable, she tried to think of what they had said all year long.

"Goodbye..." Kate said quietly, flushing. She loved her parents. They made her everything that she was. She looked at them for the last time for 10 months and then turned around, walking hurriedly towards the train.

Kate was particularly thinking about what her mother had said. "Be true to yourself." It was so simple. But in the texture of those words, there was a lot to be learned and Kate would certainly be tested on being true to herself that year.

Kate walked bravely onto the train, and into her new world, her new home. She looked around, walking nervously down the isles to find an empty car. She found one at the very end of the train. She opened and shut the door, and sat down, getting comfortable in the roomy space.

She breathed in heavily, taking in the new essence. What would this year entail, she wondered. She had thought it was going to be a dramatic, despairing escapade when her parents first told her they were moving. She was so upset she had spoken many Spanish swears and stormed to her room. But she had recently begun to look at the move and a new experience, and new adventure, and a new challenge.

Kate smiled slightly to herself. The car was extremely quiet. The peace rippled through the air with undisturbed majesty. She was inspired.

Kate pulled out a book from her bag, crossed her legs sophisticatedly, and opened it across her lap. She was reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Jane Austen was her favorite author ever since she was a young girl and her mother read the books to her. This book was her particular favorite. She was absolutely entranced by Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett, how they hated each other, and how they found love.

Kate wished for a Mr. Darcy. She had never been in love before, never had a boyfriend, never even been kissed...

Maybe he would be at Hogwarts.

She laughed to herself. Yeah, right.

Kate had become very involved in her reading. She saw the livid imagery created by the words on the page in her mind. The book had come to life for her. It was absolutely magical.

And then...

The compartment door slid open silently and quickly. Kate glanced up to see three students, probably about her age, standing the doorway. One was a dark-haired boy with green eyes who was in the front, then a redhead boy and a brunette girl.

"Er...can we sit here?" the dark haired boy asked.

Kate nodded happily. Her chance had come. "Certainly, go ahead!" she obliged cheerily.

The threesome gladsomely sat down. The girl sat down next to her and the boys took the opposite side.

They introduced themselves(A/N: and of course, you already know who they are) as Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Kate liked them already as they asked her name and seemed interested in what she had to say.

She had three new friends. It made her feel very happy, and the words of her mother kept coming back to her...

"Sea verdad a usted mismo."

They talked for hours, until Hermione announced they should probably get into their robes. A few minutes later, the train came to a halt.

Students flooded from their cars out into the hallway. Outside it was cloudy and dark, the air warm with anticipation. Kate tried to stay close to her new friends. She found it difficult.

They exited the train, stepping onto the platform outside. Hundreds of students were stilling there. A very tall scruffy man yelled out, "First years! This way!"

Dozens of smaller children followed the big man. Kate had been informed not to follow them. She had received specific instructions from Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster, several weeks before in the mail with the materials she would need for that school year.

She had been instructed to merely join the first years when the sorting hat was presented. Kate knew very little about the houses at Hogwarts; they hadn't had them at Magnifico. What were they for? Why were they so important? She was sure she would find out soon.

Kate got into a carriage with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. There were two boys in there all ready, both with dark hair. One introduced himself and Neville and the other as Seamus. They seemed to like Kate as well.

It seemed as soon as they entered the carriage it was time to get out again. Rain had begun to fall steadily and lightly down.

Kate marveled at the majestic castle in front of her. "This is...incredible." she said, awestruck.

"Just wait until we get inside." Hermione said excitedly. Kate smiled.

Kate stepped forward through the great oak doors. The sweet scent of a new beginning filled her as she took in her surroundings. The high ceilings, the talking pictures, the buzzing students...everything in the atmosphere told her there was something more than what she believed would be there. An infinite mysterious feeling was contained in those walls, and it had just barely touched Kate. It was so simple, but so magnificent in is simplicity.

To make a long story short, Kate was sorted into Gryffindor, the house with the magnanimous and brave students. It made her feel confident, and she thought of what her mother had said again.

Kate sat down proudly at Gryffindor table as people around her applauded; the nearby Hufflepuffs and the Ravenclaws clapped as well. But the Slytherins held off. She had gathered that the Slytherins were where sly and sinister students were classified. Harry and Ron hated their guts; Hermione was a little more open-minded.

By the time Kate finally got to bed that night, she was truly happy. That was the first time that had happened in a few months. It was a relief to have that feeling again.

And she could only look forward to what the next day would bring...

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I can't stand to fly  
I'm not that naive  
I'm just out to find  
The better part of me

I'm more than a bird  
I'm more than a plane  
More than some pretty face beside a train  
It's not easy to be me

Wish that I could cry  
Fall upon my knees  
Find a way to lie  
About a home I'll never see

It may sound absurd  
But don't be naive  
Even heroes have the right to bleed  
I may be disturbed  
But won't you concede  
Even heroes have the right to dream  
It's not easy to be me

Up, up and away  
Away from me  
It's all right  
You can all sleep sound tonight  
I'm not crazy  
Or anything

I can't stand to fly  
I'm not that naive  
Men weren't meant to ride  
With clouds between their knees

I'm only a man in a silly red sheet  
Digging for kryptonite on this one way street  
Only a man in a funny red sheet  
Looking for special things inside of me

It's not easy to be me

Superman(It's Not Easy) - Five For Fighting

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A/N: Yeah, that chapter sucked, I know. Tell me about it. But it will get better, don't worry. I suck at starting stories, and I just want to dive right into the romance...but I can't do that! But please review. Those are greatly appreciated...

One thing, though...I'm trying to decide which story line to follow. Suggestions are welcome. Also, if anyone can guess my real age, you get 20 taco points:3

So please review! Much love.


	2. Just Another Day, or So it Would Seem

Disclaimer: Uhuh.

A/N: So, yes, another chapter. Thanks for the reviews/alerts/favs. They are greatly appreciated and make me want to keep writing. So please keep them coming! Feliz Navidad!

Thanks to:

**SoHaPPy**

**BlueEyedCountryGirl**

**AnjaSummers**

**Illegible**

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Someone Like You

Chapter Two - Just Another Day, Or So It Would Seem

"True love comes quietly, without banners or flashing lights. If you hear bells, get your ears checked." -Erich Segal

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Cedric sat in his Charms class, feeling somewhat bored. He flicked the back of his quill as

Professor Flickwick explained the importance of the leftmost muscle in the index finger when performing spells. Yeah, so it helped you tap the handle. But was it really necessary to spend a whole class talking about it?

One of his mates nudged him. "Ten says half the class is asleep in fifteen minutes." he gambled mockingly.

Cedric smirked. "You're on." he sat back, getting relaxed for a long bleak discussion. Generally he liked all his classes, but there were those few exceptional days...

Flickwick had barely begun his lecture, when the door of the classroom slammed open. Everyone turned around to see who was coming in. It was the new student with dark hair, who was looking particularly flustered.

"Sorry, professor, I got lost." Kate said in between gasps of breath.

"Very well, then." Professor Flickwick. "Please take a seat. As I was saying..."

He continued his lecture as Kate slid into the desk behind Cedric, and next to Angelina Johnson, who Kate had met before. They had hit it off; they both loved Quidditch and were competitive, so it all worked out.

"Kate! Good morning." Angelina smiled and whisper. "Don't worry, you didn't miss anything."

Kate smiled. "Good morning and thanks." She pulled out her books, ink, and quills, but when she found out the topic of the day's lesson, she found it was probably unnecessary to have done so.

Cedric hardly knew anything about Kate; only that she was a Gryffindor and a sixth year, like him. And that she was new, obviously. So he paid little attention when she entered class late.

The class, surprisingly, passed quite quickly. Maybe it was just that way because Kate had been doodling on a piece of paper. She noticed several people, including Angelina, and the Weasley twins who were sitting kitty corner from them, were asleep. Then they were dismissed.

Kate had Divination next. She said goodbye to Angelina, who had Defense Against the Dark Arts next.

Kate wasn't quite sure which tower the divination classroom was in, so she ran up several flights of stairs. Glancing at her watch, she knew it was getting late, and she didn't want to be late to class again...

She ran to the next flight of stairs to a tower. She began running as students around scrambled to their classes, signifying that class would begin soon. A rush of panic ran through her, causing her to scramble as well.

She couldn't be late to another class! What would her teachers think of her?

She reached the next landing, but groaned when she saw there were even more stairs. Her heart was pounding and she was nearly out of breath...

A few students passed her, running up the stairs. She was flustered. She wanted to ask what class they were going to, but she was too short of breath.

Then...trip.

Kate completely missed her footing. Her toes slipped down the steps, and she felt herself falling backwards...

Oh great, she thought. I'm going to die on my first day of school.

But then she felt an arm slip around her back and catch her. She caught her breath and closed her eyes.

When she opened them again, she was looking into perturbed grey eyes. Kate felt herself go quite pale and then blush in embarrassment.

"Watch your step," her catcher advised, in a somewhat mocking tone of voice. He smiled at her as he helped her to her feet.

Kate was very, very embarrassed. This was definitely not the way she wanted to begin the school year. She straightened herself up.

"Er...thanks." Kate muttered, looking at the stairs quickly. It only made it worse to look into his eyes.

She began walking very quickly up the stairs to get away from the awkward situation. How stupid she was, she thought. How stupid she was to fall down the stairs! How stupid she was to run up the stairs in the first place! Now she had made a complete fool of herself in front of someone she didn't know.

"Hey!" He called up after her, running to catch up after momentarily standing bewildered on the steps.

He reached her side. Kate stared forward, her cheeks burning. "Are...you okay?" he asked insistently.

"Err...yeah." Kate answered quickly, not daring to look at him.

He looked at her closer. "Do I...know you?" he asked apprehensively.

"Uh...no. I don't think so." Kate murmured, still looking at the stairs.

He tried to look into her eyes. "Wait...you're the new girl, aren't you? The transfer?" he asked pleasantly, half smiling.

"Um, yeah, thanks me." Kate muttered, feeling weirded out. People she didn't know seemed to only know her as the new girl.

"Oh, right then! I'm Cedric Diggory. Nice to meet you. And you are?" he introduced politely.

Kate finally looked at him. It was kind of hard to introduce herself without looking at him. That may actually be worse.

"I'm Kate Lowe." she replied.

"So, these stairs are quite a job, eh?" he teased.

"What?" Kate asked, befuddled.

"You tripped." he said matter-of-factly, making Kate feel like an idiot.

"So?" She responded forcefully, walking faster.

"Err...nevermind." Cedric shrugged it off.

They were silent. Kate was become quite irritable. What was his deal, anyway? She didn't want to be his friend, especially after the way they had met.

"Why are you talking to me?" Kate sighed, slightly angered, turning on the spot and facing him.

He looked taken aback. "I was trying to be nice to you!" he argued defensively.

Kate was not in the mood to be bugged. Especially by a member of the opposite sex. "By teasing me?" she spat.

"Oh, good lord. Your Spanish, aren't you?" Cedric remarked wittily.

"What's that supposed to mean!" Kate snapped back.

Cedric smirked, raising his eyebrows. "What class to you have next, anyway?"

"Divination. Why?" Kate simmered.

Cedric began sniggering. "Well, it's a shame this is the astronomy tower, then."

Kate scrunched up her face in anger and frustration. She didn't say anything, just bit her lip. Cedric stood there, smiling cockishly at her.

She outbursted then, spinning on her heel, stomping down the stairs, and shouted Spanish swears.

Cedric watched her disappear down the stairs. He chuckled slightly, then turned, going into his class.

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What's the deal with my brain?  
Why am I so obviously insane?  
In a perfect situation  
I let love down the drain.  
There's the pitch, slow and straight.  
All I have to do is swing  
and I'm a hero, but I'm a zero.

Hungry nights, once again  
Now it's getting unbelievable.  
'Cause I could not have it better,  
But I just can't get no play  
From the girls, all around  
As they search the night for someone to hold onto.  
And I just pass through...

singing...  
Ooohhhhh oh. Ooohhhhh oh. Ooohhhhhhhhhh.  
Singing...  
Ooohhhhh oh. Ooohhhhh oh. Ooohhhhhhhhhh.  
Get your hands off the girl,  
Can't you see that she belongs to me?  
And I don't appreciate this excess company.  
Though I can't satisfy all the needs she has  
And so she starts to wander...  
Can you blame her?

singing...  
Ooohhhhh oh. Ooohhhhh oh. Ooohhhhhhhhhh.  
Singing...  
Ooohhhhh oh. Ooohhhhh oh. Ooohhhhhhhhhh.

Tell me there's a logic out there.  
Leading me to better prepare  
For the day that something really special might come.  
Tell me there's some hope for me.  
I don't wanna be lonely  
For the rest of my days on the earth.  
Oh..!

_solo_

Ooohhhhh oh. Ooohhhhh oh. Ooohhhhhhhhhh.  
Singing...  
Ooohhhhh oh. Ooohhhhh oh. Ooohhhhhhhhhh.  
Singing...  
Ooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Perfect Situation - Weezer

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A/N: Yay, chapter two is done! Huzzah! Please, please, review! It would mean so much to me. Yay for the love-hate relationship.

And by the way, Cedric is a sixth year in book four, despite popular belief that he's a seventh year. I don't know just how this quite works with his age, but in PoA, it notes he's a fifth year. I'm not positive if it ever says in GoF what year he is, but I'm sure he is a sixth year. Nyeh.

Much love, my lovelies!

Please review!


	3. You Can't Take it With You

Disclaimer: Yeah. It's here.

A/N: Yes, another chapter. I keep belting them out. I'm so obsessed with Harry Potter and particularly Cedric right now, so expect more. Plus my teachers seem more lenient at this time of year, so I am a lot less pressured. Shpread the Christmas spirit!

And just a P.S. for you. The rating may go up. It depends on how I go...this story is very light in the beginning, but at the end, it may be a little...intense, per se.

And another P.S. Kate is friends with the threesome, but friends with also more of the students in her year, like Angelina, Fred and George, ect.

Yeah. Enjoy!

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Someone Like You

Chapter Three - You Can't Take It With You

"My, my...this is a small world." -Meredith, _The Parent Trap_

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Kate bursted into the great hall at dinner time. Her hair was flung back into a frizzy ponytail, and she looked particularly annoying. It had been a long, grueling, tiring first day. All she wanted to do was go to sleep, and sleep for a very, very long time.

She sat down in between Angelina and Hermione, who were munching on turkey pot pie. They acknowledged her in between bites. Harry, Ron, Fred, and George sat across from them.

"Kate! You look a little bit overwhelmed," Harry sniggered. He had been expecting this ever since he had seen her earlier in the hall, red faced and fuming.

"'Ow wa' 'ur 'ay?" Ron asked through a mouthful of mashed potatoes, meaning "How was your day?"

Kate let out a long sigh. That was enough of an answer for them. "I was late to all of my classes." she groaned.

Hermione laughed, but patted her on the back comfortingly nevertheless. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Oh, God, I was terribly late to Divination. I must have missed half the class! I mean, bloody hell! Can't they label the towers so things are a little bit more coherent!" Kate complained, sticking her fork into a helping of peas.

"Sounds like you had quite the day." Fred smirked. George laughed.

Kate nodded, taking a deep breath. It had been exhausting, running every which way, falling down the stairs, dropping her bag on a few occasions, and not to mention that boy who had made fun of her. And he wasn't the only one who had done that. There were several who had pointed fingers at her as she ran and laughed, including that pinched up Slytherin Draco Malfoy, whom she only knew because Harry and Ron hated his guts.

She couldn't blame them for that, he definitely did not seem like a pleasant boy.

Harry had pulled out his potions book, muttering how he wanted to get started on his homework because Professor Snape had given them loads to do, even for the first day.

"If this is how things are going to all year, I'll be buried in my own parchment by the end of the year." he complained dully. Kate chuckled. She quite like Harry as a friend, he was a decent fellow. And he quite liked her, she was a quaint girl.

"Have you heard?" George began, leaning in. "I've heard Dumbledore has some big announcement this year. Something big is going to happen." He told them quietly.

Angelina raised her eyebrows. "Really? I wonder what it is about...I hope it really is good and you aren't just being a prick." she teased.

Fred and George laughed. "Trust us," They said in unison.

Friday, Kate had to do an oral presentation in Defense Against the Dark Arts. She was doing hers on the dangers and usefulness of Great Jumping Hungarian Pixies. The subject was extremely dull, and as she stood up there Fred gave her funny looks from the back of the class room. She tried her best not to giggle and get on with what she was saying. Her eyes danced across the room as she spoke nervously. She noticed the boy who had caught her on the stairs in the back of the classroom. She finished, and went back to her seat. She felt she had done just fine, though Fred gave her a hard time about it. She was still shaking from nerve when she sat down.

The others doubted Fred and George's news, until on Sunday evening Dumbledore rose at dinner, clanking his goblet, and cleared his throat. The room quieted.

To make a long story short, he gave them the scoop on the Triwizard Tournament, a competition between three wizarding schools to find the best wizard. A new rule had been imposed that you had to be seventeen to enter.

Fred and George groaned. They wanted eternal glory, but were still sixteen.

"Rubbish! That's not fair..." Fred pouted angrily. George joined in the swearing.

Kate was still sixteen as well. Not that she particularly wanted to enter; Dumbledore mentioned how dangerous the competition was, as Kate didn't want to put her life at risk when she had just gotten there.

The two other schools, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, arrived momentarily. The Beauxbatons were a school of petite, wondrous French girls, while Durmstrang was a school of tough, bulky, powerful Bulgarian boys.

Ron nearly fell off his bench when he saw that Viktor Krum, his favorite Quidditch player, attended Durmstrang. He became extremely giddy.

Anyone who wanted to participate had to put their name in the enormous Goblet of Fire. At the Hufflepuff table, one of Cedric's mates nudged him.

"You should enter!" he urged, nodding along as Dumbledore spoke.

Cedric had indeed been thinking about it since the mention of the tournament had been announced. He wondered if he could possibly win. He also wondered if it was even possible he would be chosen as champion of his school. It seemed highly unlikely. There were a bunch of other great students who were very smart and experienced. He was barely seventeen.

Cedric shrugged. It was an exciting idea. Maybe he would enter. Not like there would be any harm done if he didn't win...

He left, saying goodbye to his friends. He went to the library to find as much information as possible on the tournament.

Fred and George still planned on trying to enter. They were discussing different potions they could use to make to fool the age line that would be surrounding the Goblet to make sure no one under age entered.

"I'm sure we have something to use..." George was plotting to Fred quietly.

Kate turned to Angelina. "Are you going to enter?" she asked politely.

Angelina nodded excitedly. "Yes. It just sounds so...exiting. And these other schools are magnificent! I can't wait to see if I could compete against them..." she trailed off, going into a dream state of mind.

Kate left the great hall before her friends. She said goodbye to them, and walked out of the room.

The school seemed incredibly empty. It was a nice feeling, since Kate had been rushing everywhere in the last week. She listened tranquilly as her footsteps echoed in the large hallways...

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Opening them again, she began climbing the marble staircase.

Far off, she heard a door snap shut, and the sound of someone else's footsteps fill the air. She heard some low talking. Reaching the first landing, she saw some first year Ravenclaws muttering to each other in a group. She still heard footsteps over head. She kept climbing.

In the next hallway, she turned the corner sharply, eyes cast down. She realized how tired she truely was, and she yawned enormously. She reached the end of that hall.

She turned the next corner sharply as well. Her tranquility was interrupted upon the jerking feeling of colliding with something...no, someone. Kate gulped, realizing what she had just done.

She stepped back, and looked up, sucking in a gasp of air.

It was _that boy_, who had caught her on the stairs. She couldn't help but groan and began feeling extremely sorry for herself.

"Err...hullo, Kate." Cedric muttered apprehensively. He looked down, trying to catch her eyes. He couldn't help but smile to himself. This was the second time Kate's clumsiness had caused an awkward situation between them. He wondered how many more times that would happen and if it would be the only way they ever interacted.

"Oh. Hi." Kate chocked out, trying to walk by him, maneuvering swiftly. But he would not get out of the way.

Kate looked up at him aggitatedly. His grey eyes met hers in a glare of contention. Cedric was carrying two rather old looking books in his arms; one labeled "A Magical History of Quite Dangerous Events" and "The Triwizard Tournament: Your All Answer Guide to Being a Champion".

Kate observed speculatively. "So, you're thinking of entering the tournament?" she asked, a tone of mockery in her voice. She thought it laughable for him to be a champion. Sure, she nothing about him. She didn't even remember his name. But the idea of the guy-who-kept-running-into-her-in-the-hall being the Hogwarts Champion seemed farfetched.

Cedric shrugged, looking humble. "I'm thinking about it." he answered shortly.

Kate sniggered. "I can see that." she told him, nodding at his books.

Cedric looked from his books to Kate. "Right." he answered simply.

Kate felt a wretched insult inside of her. She didn't know why she felt she needed to mock him so badly, but it worked its way out of her.

She smiled, looking satisfied with what she was about to say. She walked in a circle around him, not looking away from his eyes. "I have just one piece of advice for you. Give up now."

Cedric looked quite taken aback, but he kept a content look on his face. He smirked, saying, "I wouldn't expect that to hear that from you. I saved your life. Surely that deems some credit of worthiness to be a Triwizard Champ." he snickered.

Kate frowned, furrowing her brow. She unexplainably disliked him. She didn't understand why. He really hadn't done anything to her. In fact, if it wasn't for him she would have been even later to Divination. And she'd be dead or have brain damage, something like that. Maybe the reason she disliked him so much already, despite only having conversed with him on two occasions, was because he _kept being right_. Kate hated being wrong. And that fact that he was pointing out she didn't have any real reason to hate him–and the fact that that was true–made her just hate him all the more.

"Hey, Mr. I'm-too-cool-for-my-shirt! Piss off!" Kate spat angrily, squeezing her eyes shut.

Cedric raised his eyebrows. "As you wish, Kate." he said craftily. Kate watched him smile competitively, turn his back, and begin walking away under her arched brow. He disappeared behind the corner.

Kate sighed to herself, releasing her angry glare, glad he was gone. She began up the next flight of stairs, until she heard, "Oh, by the way. Your presentation was nice." he shouted back to her. Kate didn't turn around, but she stopped walking. Just then, she felt slightly bad about what she had said. But not much.

Then, he added, just after she had started walking again, "And it's Cedric, by the way."

Kate's temporary small remorse vanished, and she began grumbling as she climbed the stairs. There he was, once again, _right_. He knew she'd forgotten his name. She wasn't that obvious, was she? The I'm-too-cool-for-my-shirt name could've just been an insult, not just a substitute for his name. Kate did mean it as an insult, but she mostly used it because she didn't remember his real name.

Then Kate had confused herself. She finally reached the Fat Lady's portrait, muttered "Balderdash," and went inside.

But upon entering that room, seeing the few people there, happily conversing, pouring over books before the fire, and a few friendly waves, Kate was engulfed by the entire warm atmosphere. She realized, that at least to her, petty anger was not something you could take with you in the wizarding world. And that made all the difference in her mood, as she became inexplicably happy, and thought about Cedric no more.

----------------------

Tough, you think you've got the stuff  
You're telling me and anyone  
You're hard enough

You don't have to put up a fight  
You don't have to always be right  
Let me take some of the punches  
For you tonight

Listen to me now  
I need to let you know  
You don't have to go it alone

And it's you when I look in the mirror  
And it's you when I don't pick up the phone  
Sometimes you can't make it on your own

We fight all the time  
You and I...that's alright  
We're the same soul  
I don't need...I don't need to hear you say  
That if we weren't so alike  
You'd like me a whole lot more

Listen to me now  
I need to let you know  
You don't have to go it alone

And it's you when I look in the mirror  
And it's you when I don't pick up the phone  
Sometimes you can't make it on your own

I know that we don't talk  
I'm sick of it all  
Can - you - hear - me - when - I -  
Sing, you're the reason I sing  
You're the reason why the opera is in me...

Where are we now?  
I've still got to let you know  
A house still doesn't make a home  
Don't leave me here alone...

And it's you when I look in the mirror  
And it's you that makes it hard to let goSometimes you can't make it on your own  
Sometimes you can't make it  
The best you can do is to fake it  
Sometimes you can't make it on your own

Sometimes You Can't Make it On Your Own - U2

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A/N: There you go! I hope you liked it. Please, please, please review! It would mean so much to me and encourages me to keep writing! Even though I insanely enjoy writing this, I appreciate feedback very much. And if no one is reading this, I don't feel much purpose in continuing. Anyway...next chapter: more humiliation of Kate! Just kidding. I'm not quite sure where to go after this, so the next chapter may take a few more days than usual to get uploaded. Anyway, enough of my rambling.

Much love! PLEASE REVIEW:3


	4. A Victory for Kate

Disclaimer: Sweet. Swirling. Onion. Rings.

A/N: Behold, another chapter! Fwee! I hope you are all enjoying reading this. Please let me know if you do. Christmas break is soon. Yay. Happy Christmahannukwanzaka to you. Please keep reading and reviewing:3 Even though I'm not receiving as many reviews as I would like, at least I'm not getting flames. That's a good thing:3 Anyway, on with the show...

Thanks to:

**Kate Manion**

**Sweet A.K**

**LionHeart of StarClan**

**PrussianBlue Cross**

**Wavy Blue**

**So HaPPy**

**SarmatianKnight13**

**bookworm1993**

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Someone Like You

Chapter Four - A Victory for Kate

"Shake well." -Hidden Valley Ranch bottle

----------------------

The first two months of school flew by to most of the students, Kate included. October was rolling right on through. The month was almost over. The air was chilling and people began wearing more clothes outside so they wouldn't freeze. The only plants that were surviving were Hagrid's enormous pumpkins that would be used in the Halloween celebration.

The holiday wasn't the only important thing about that date; it was also the day the champions of the tournament would be chosen. Everyone who had entered was becoming more and more anxious and wired as the deadline drew closer.

Cedric had taken his gut instinct and entered the tournament. Kate had seen him approach the Goblet one day during lunch, and wasn't the least bit surprised when she saw him. She had known he would enter from the day she saw him with those books in the hall. It made her slightly disgusted, though, because everyone thought he would probably win. Everyone seemed to think he was perfect, some kind of golden boy, a genuine article, whatever you wanted to call him. But Kate didn't like it one bit.

Kate hadn't spoken to Cedric since that day in the hall. Oh sure, she'd seen him in class and in the halls and at meals plenty of times. But she made it a point to sit very far away from him and walk on the other side of the hall. And of course, she avoided eye contact at all times. She uniformly looked at her feet when she was walking down the hall to make absolutely sure she didn't look at him. She wasn't quite sure _why_ she loathed seeing him so much, but she did. It was just a girl thing, she supposed. No, a Kate thing.

It was the end of a long week. All the students looked forward to the end of the week, because it was not only Halloween, but the Goblet would choose it's three champions. Everyone, not only the friends of the entrees, was wound up. People were always talking about it. Even some were placing bets on who would be chosen. Those people, of course, were Fred and George Weasley, and their friends.

"10 says Angelina Johnson." One Ravenclaw boy that had approached the gambling twins during lunch on Saturday, the day before the announcement.

Fred nodded. "Right you are, then." George took down his bet and took his money. The boy walked away. They looked satisfied.

Hermione muttered something insulting to them. That only caused them to laugh in unison and begin poking fun at Hermione.

Kate left lunch early. She needed to go to the library to do some serious studying. She had a critical Potions test on Monday, and since everything would be too exciting the next day, she needed to get it done now. She picked up her book bag, said goodbye to her friends, and made her way through the school to the library.

Kate picked a nice quite corner of the library by tall bookshelves to study at. There was a nice plush armchair she chose to sit in. The room was very serene. The only noise was an owl clicking somewhere off in the distance, the almost inaudible scratch of quills, and a small group of second year Hufflepuff girls whispering silently amongst themselves. There were a few other people in there, also in front of towers of books, studying.

Kate opened her Potions book and began to make an effort to read it. Okay, newts eye causes warts to break out on your back, werewolf hairs make and exceptionally thick and stingy lozenge when stirred and left to dry, hippogriff feathers _something something_...

And then she was extremely bored. She found it very difficult in that peaceful setting to keep her concentration, let alone keep her eyes open...

She decided, instead, to take out her copy of _Pride and Prejudice_ and read some classic Muggle literature than rather bore herself to sleep with Potions.

She unconsciously heard the open and close of the library door. She ignored it, and kept reading.

_Mr. Darcy, Mr. Darcy, Mr. Darcy..._

Then Kate heard the Hufflepuff girls squeeing and giggling. She ignored that too. Young girls think everything is funny anyway. It wasn't worth Kate's attention.

Then she heard, quite to her disgust and contention, "Oh, hello, Cedric!" "You're looking exceptionally fine this morning!" "Is that a new sweater? It looks very nice!" from each of the young girls.

Kate looked up, making a gagging motion. It absolutely disgusted her how _everyone_ loved him. All the girls wanted to date him, and all the boys wanted to be him. To her, it was a gross display of praise, like he was a God or something. He was just a bloke. Kate's blood boiled. He was nice and attractive. But she hated him. He was a good student and friendly. But she hated him. He was just and loyal. But she hated him. He was humorous and just so "perfect". _But she hated him_. And seeing him there, being swooned over by little pea-brained sycophants made her sick to her stomach.

Then she noticed he was looking at her. And _smirking_. Oh God, she thought to herself. He's going to come harass me for being the only person who doesn't LOVE him! She thought dismally.

Sure enough, after awkwardly saying "Hi" to the girls, he began sauntering slowly over to her direction. Her stomach sunk. Oh, great.

He reached her, and Kate prepared herself for words of mock. So she was very surprised when he turned the corner and walked up the isle nearest her, the section labeled "Monsters and Creatures".

Kate spoke vainfully before she could stop herself. She snapped her book shut and looked at him angrily. He was innocently looking at the books on the shelves, his hands thrust into his pockets. He was humming a tune.

"Are you ALREADY studying for the tournament? I hate to tell you this, but you haven't won yet." Kate snapped, provoked most likely by her disgusted feelings from earlier.

Cedric smiled to himself, turning her direction and leaning against the book case. "The keyword is yet." he teased.

Kate furrowed her brow. "Are you that vain to think you're the obvious choice for champion? Guess again." she said smugly.

"I was kidding." he said obviously, like Kate had missed the entire point.

Kate shrugged. She didn't know what to say then.

Cedric looked back at the books. "Care of Magical Creatures homework." he answered simply.

Kate felt herself go red. "Oh. I see."

"Personally, I don't think I'll win. I think your friend Angelina Johnson deserves it more than me. But the Goblet is the judge. We'll see what it says." Cedric answered as he continued looking at the titles of the books. He pulled out one labeled "You and Your Skrewts: The Basics to Keeping Yourself Alive" and began humming again.

Kate was still silent. She didn't have anything to say. She couldn't think of anything. Nothing witty or expertly insultive entered her head. She just sat there, looking like an idiot, watching him inspect the books.

"Skrewts. Nasty buggers. Hagrid's going to have us raise them. I really think he's brilliant, but these creatures are supposedly quite dangerous." he told her frankly.

Kate wanted to say something to that, like "...and I care why...?" but she nothing came out of her mouth. She wasn't thinking straight. She was simply dumbstruck for some reason. Maybe it was because he was so humble about entering the tournament. Or the fact that this was the first time they had spoken that she wasn't continually insulting him. When she seriously thought about it, he really hadn't ever insulted her before. He had actually saved her life. Okay, so it was a stupid little thing, falling down the stairs. She honestly wouldn't have probably died. But still, he'd helped her.

_But still, she hated him!_

...Or did she?

Kate had honestly confused herself. She didn't like him. Oh no, no, no. But she didn't feel she hated him as much as when he had entered the library. She found it easier to dislike him than hate him, strangely.

She then became aware of the fact that she was staring in her space cadet-ness. She adverted her eyes and opened her book again.

Cedric momentarily left, checking out the Skrewts book he had picked up. Kate stayed in the library until dinner. She didn't do any studying. She just read her book, and day dreamed...

_Oh, Mr. Darcy...I wish there was someone like you..._

_----------------------_

"Oi, Kate!" George called across the common room. It was Sunday afternoon and only hours before the naming of the champions during dinner. Everyone was very excited, especially Angelina. Her friends remained sure that she would win.

Kate was sitting at a table, once again making some attempt to study for her Potions test. She looked up to George, who was lounging on the sofa with Fred, Seamus, and Dean Thomas.

"You wanna make a bet? Only a few more chances!" Fred encouraged.

Kate sniggered and shook her head. "No, thanks."

"C'mon! Aren't you sure Angelina's going to win? And besides, you can get money out of this!" George pressured.

Kate still shook her head. "But I don't have any money with me. I'd have to go all the way upstairs to get some."

Fred rolled his eyes. "Oh, rubbish. Never mind. A lot of us Gryffindors are pulling for Angelina, but there's a lot of talk around Cedric Diggory too...they're probably the two highest combatants for Hogwarts champ."

Kate frowned. Oh, yeah, great. Sure Cedric was being talked about. Everyone that wasn't a Gryffindor seemed to think he was going to win...

Soon that hour came. Everyone rushed eagerly into the great hall, crowding through the doorway and into their seats. Angelina didn't eat hardly anything because of her nerves. They were killing her.

"I don't know why I'm so nervous, Diggory's probably going to win anyway." Angelina said hopelessly, forking her mashed potatoes.

Kate furrowed her brow, trying to think of something to say. She'd never been too good at trying to comfort people. When she did she usually just ended up sounding like an idiot.

After what seemed like an eternity of eating, Dumbledore rose. He said some things, but no one paid much attention. They were just all eager to see who the Goblet would choose.

Dumbledore approached the Goblet. Red flames appeared, emitting a piece of paper with something scribbled on it.

"The champion for Durmstrang...Viktor Krum!" he said loudly.

No one was too surprised at this. He was the obvious choice, being a star Quidditch player and all. A great eruption of noise came from the Durmstrang students as Krum made his way across the hall to the room behind the teachers table.

Then the red flames rose again, emitting another scrap of paper. Dumbledore grabbed it.

"The champion for Beauxbatons...Fleur Delacour!"

The Beauxbaton girls erupted with screams and claps. A pretty blonde girl rose and glided across the hall to the same room Krum had entered. Every eye of a male in the room followed her as she walked.

The flames turned red once more. The room went silent as Dumbledore grabbed the paper that had erupted from the fire.

"The Hogwarts champion...Cedric Diggory!"

"No!" Ron cried, but no one heard him. The noise from the Hufflepuff table was too great.

Kate's stomach sunk. Sure, she had known it was going to happen somewhere in the back of her mind the whole time. But she sure felt bad for Angelina.

She looked at her friend. Angelina looked fine, like she had been expecting it, at least on the surface. Kate could see the jealousy and disappointment in her eyes.

Kate felt her blood boil as she watched Cedric, who had an excited grin on his face, walk across the room happily. That should be Angelina, she thought angrily. He doesn't deserve it. He gets everything anyway.

Her opinion of Cedric went from Dislike to Hate again. It just wasn't right. He didn't deserve it. Angelina was much more capable...

"There! We have our three champions..." Dumbledore was saying.

Then, unexpectedly the flames turned red again. Yet another piece of paper emerged from the flames, and once again, Dumbledore caught it.

The room was silent.

"Harry Potter!"

Kate hadn't been paying attention until Dumbledore read that name. Everyone's head turned toward Harry, who was looking bewildered.

Harry cautiously got up and went to the room behind the teachers table.

That's when everyone erupted with talking.

----------------------

Dumbledore decided Harry had to participate. Ron was mad at him, for some reason. Harry was tired and wished people would stop asking him how he got his name in the Goblet. "I didn't," was his uniform response.

Kate noticed just how tired and worn he looked. It made her feel more malice towards Cedric, for a reason beyond her knowledge.

"Hey, Harry...don't worry about it. They'll get over it. I know you didn't put your name in that cup." Kate sympathized as they sat on the couch before the roaring fire in the common room.

Harry looked at her and smiled faintly. "Thanks. At least some one believes me."

"You don't need to worry about them." Kate told him. "The most important thing is you know you didn't do anything wrong. That's all that mattered."

Harry felt relieved, realizing she was right. Then something strange happened, and he found himself looking into her eyes, realizing just how pretty they were...and how pretty she was...

----------------------

Kate spent Monday afternoon walking around the grounds. She felt very angry still. Angelina should've won. Harry shouldn't be competing. Cedric didn't deserve it. Everything was wrong with this competition.

She stood on the grass near a large tree outside the castle near the lake. She looked about, her hands shoved into her pockets. She spotted someone standing on the dock at the lake.

He turned around. Ugh, Kate thought, it's him. The undeserving champion. Cedric.

Kate was filled with impulse and angry erupted inside of him. She needed to show him that not everyone wanted him to be champion. That not everyone loved him. She wanted to show him up.

He was already looking at her when she began stomping quickly over to him. He smiled innocently as she reached the dock and walked up to him.

"Hullo, Kate." he said politely.

Kate glared at him. She said the very first thing that popped into her head. "Your not perfect, so get over yourself! You don't deserve to be champ! I mean, who do you think you are, David Beckham!"

And with that she ejected her hand from her side. It collided squarely with Cedric's chest, who teetered backwards, lost his footing, and landed swiftly into the cold lake water.

Kate smiled with a satisfied look on her face. Cedric broke the surface of the water. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came to him. He just floated there, looking baffled at her. A competitive feeling stirred in him, and he even smiled in disbelief.

Kate crouched down and sniggered at him. "Oh, sorry. I, er...slipped," she remarked sarcastically.

Cedric did not hesitate. He reached up, grabbed her venerable wrist, and pulled her toppling into the water.

Kate felt the rush of the cold lake cover her. She popped her head above water quickly.

"Why you..." Kate fumbled. Cedric was laughing.

"Mr. Diggory! Ms. Lowe! What is the meaning of this?" they heard McGonagall's voice rasp.

Cedric stopped laughing and they exchanged looks of desperation.

"Detention! Both of you. My office, tonight, 6:00. It would be wise of you to get there early." she demanded, the walked away.

Kate then laughed. She felt absolutely ridiculous. And she caused Cedric to have detention. That was delightful. She swam triumphantly out of the lake, and walked away feeling like she had just won a very important battle.

----------------------

Do you have the time  
to listen to me whine  
About nothing and everything  
all at once  
I am one of those  
Melodramatic fools  
Neurotic to the bone  
No doubt about it

Sometimes I give myself the creeps  
Sometimes my mind plays tricks on me  
It all keeps adding up  
I think I'm cracking up  
Am I just paranoid?  
Or I'm just stoned

I went to a shrink  
To analyze my dreams  
She says it's lack of sex  
that's bringing me down  
I went to a whoreHe said my life's a bore  
So quit my whining cause  
it's bringing her down

Sometimes I give myself the creeps  
Sometimes my mind plays tricks on me  
It all keeps adding up  
I think I'm cracking up  
Am I just paranoid?  
Uh, yuh, yuh, ya

Grasping to control  
So I better hold on

Sometimes I give myself the creeps  
Sometimes my mind plays tricks on me  
It all keeps adding up  
I think I'm cracking up  
Am I just paranoid?  
Or I'm just stoned

Green Day - Basket Case

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A/N: Well, I hope you enjoyed that. More hilarity next chapter. Is Harry crushing on Kate? How will Cedric handle the first task? And will Kate and Cedric ever get along? Please keep reading and please review so I keep writing!


	5. Of Detention and Food Fights

Disclaimer: Good news! I saw a dog today.

A/N: Happy Holidays! Thanks to everyone who is reading/reviewing/faving, etc. It means a lot to me and encourages me to keep writing! So please, keep it up and enjoy your holiday!

Thanks to:

**The Real Hogwarts Champion(c2)**

**Iris Knotwise(review/fav)**

**Mysticdark1(review/alert)**

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I hope I got everyone. 3 If I missed you, I give you full permission to hit me on the head with a wooden spoon. On with the chapter:)

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Someone Like You

Chapter Five - Of Detention and Food Fights

"It's choice - not chance - that determines your destiny." -Dean Nidetch

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Despite the fact the Kate had earned herself detention, the victorious feeling she had gained after pushing Cedric into the lake stayed with her the rest of the day. She was proud for earning him detention and felt like she had proved something, even though she wasn't quite sure what she had proved.

Cedric having detention did not look so good. He was, after all, a prefect and one of Hogwarts champions. However, news spread quickly, and it seemed to only make many students' attitudes towards Harry worse. Kate felt bad about that...

And she came to realization she would probably have to serve detention with Cedric, which made her stomach sink. Professor McGonagall was not likely to separate them to work, even though it was obvious they shared a mutual dislike for each other.

Kate arrived at Professor McGonagall's office a few minutes before six, as she had advised.

She stood there alone momentarily, not wanting to go inside. Then she heard the sound of footsteps against the hard stone floor. Her head whipped around and she grimaced as she saw Cedric turning the corner and coming towards her.

Kate felt her body stiffen as he came closer and eventually stopped next to her.

Cedric opened his mouth to ask why Kate hadn't knocked on the door yet, but Kate cut him off, sharply turning to him, and with a pointed finger, spat, "Before you say anything, I just want you to know that I _loathe_ you. Not dislike. Not hate. But loathe. And you, scum of the earth, are the last person I would ever want to spend an evening with."

Cedric looked mildly surprised. Then, standing up straight, his lips curving up into a mocking smile, he replied, "Pity. I quite like you. You seem very nice. I mean, to your friends. And you're quite funny."

Kate glared at him, lost for a comeback. She stared maliciously into his grey eyes, then reached out her fist and rasped on the door.

Professor McGonagall came to the door and looked at the two of them seriously. "Good evening," she muttered.

"Good evening, Professor," Kate and Cedric said in unison.

"It trust you are ready for your detention. And I hope you learn your lesson." Professor McGonagall told them.

Cedric lowered his eyes. He shouldn't be there. Kate knew that. He hadn't done anything wrong. And Kate did feel a little bit of a smidgen sorry for him. But then she remembered just how...disgustingly perfect he was, and her guilt faded away.

"You'll be working in the kitchen tonight. Normally, students aren't aloud in there. But thanks to the efforts of young Ms. Granger, Professor Dumbledore decided to let the elves have a night off. The dinner is already made. All you will need to do is make the dessert. Here is a list of what you need to make." Professor McGonagall told them. Kate flushed with anger. She was hoping for something simple, like cleaning the trophy room or assisting Filch patrol the halls. But no, she had to cook dessert.

Professor McGonagall handed a piece of parchment to Cedric. He looked down at it and frowned, furrowing her brow.

She went on. "There you have it. Please go to the kitchen now. Mr. Filch will let you in."

Kate nodded and Cedric said, "Yes, Professor."

"Right. Good evening." Professor McGonagall shut the door quickly, leaving Cedric and Kate windswept in the hall.

Kate began marching quickly and hastily down the hall towards the kitchen. Then she realized foolishly that she didn't know where the kitchen was. She flushed, spun around on her heel, and saw Cedric standing at the other end of the hall.

He looked at her uncertainly. "Are you...coming?" he asked, befuddled.

Kate nodded oddly, walking quickly to catch up to him. She stopped walking quickly a few paces behind him, as to not have to walk next to him.

But Cedric was a gentleman, so he stopped walking a waited for her to catch up.

Kate grumbled. "You don't have to wait for me."

"Er..." Cedric started. He didn't know what to say.

They reached a tall portrait of a fruit bowl where Filch was standing after a long and silent walk. Kate had spent the whole time grumbling to herself with her hands thrust into her pocket. Cedric had walked a few paces ahead of her, because every time he tried to stop to let her catch up, she stopped as well. She made it very clear she had no intention of patching the very dismal hole between them.

Filch let them in, then mumbled off down the hall. Kate and Cedric stepped inside of the kitchen. Dinner would start in an hour. The exchanged exhausted looks for a brief moment as the realized the task before them would be quite hard work.

"Well? What does it say? The paper, I mean." Kate asked impatiently, placing her hands on her hips.

Cedric gave her a perturbed look, like she had no business asking. "We've got to get out the ingredients first. Chocolate fudge bars are on the menu tonight."

Kate heart sunk. She imagined herself, sitting back in the common room with her friends, laughing merrily, then coming to dinner, and eating the fudge bars herself. She shot a secret dirty look at Cedric. He didn't see it as he scanned the paper.

"This won't be so bad." He told Kate, seeing her lugubrious face. "We only have to make two bowl fulls, and then use the _Repruco_ spell to make more."

"So I'll take one bowl and you the other." Kate specified.

"Yeah. That works." Cedric agreed. Then he realized something and began laughing.

"What's your problem?" Kate asked lamely.

"This is the first time you and I have ever worked together." he told her, a quirky smile on his face.

Kate expression did not change. "Don't get used to it. I plan on hating you for a quite a while longer."

"So does that mean after 'a while longer' you won't hate me anymore? Besides, hate is a strong word." Cedric smirked. "Frankly, I don't quite understand-" He was cut off by Kate.

"Don't say it. You know perfectly well why I don't like you." Kate accused, pointing a finger at him.

"Actually, I don't. Care to enlighten me?" Cedric asked mockingly.

"NO." Kate shouted, lowering her eyes. "Let's just get to work."

They located two large silver bowls in a bottom cabinet. Setting hers on the counter, Kate snatched up the paper Cedric had placed on the counter.

"Well, better get started." Kate grabbed an apron the was hanging on the wall and tied it around her waist. Cedric grabbed one too, then proceeded to the sink. Kate spun around to face him, realizing she had forgotten to wash her hands.

"Lady's first." Cedric obliged. Kate lowered her eyes and stepped passed him to the sink, feeling strangely guilty again.

She washed her hands as Cedric re-read the instructions. "Are you ready for this?" he asked politely.

"Ready as I'll ever be." she smiled faintly.

----------------------

Meanwhile, in the Gryffindor common room, Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat relaxing in front of the fire. They had just been loaded with a bundle of homework from Professor Snape, concerning the uses of dung beetle juices. Only Hermione was working on it.

"D'you think Kate'll be back anytime soon?" Harry asked innocently.

"Good God, that must be the third time you've asked in the past twenty minutes. What is with you, anyway?" Ron scolded. Him and Harry had been a bit cross with each other since the drawing of the champions.

Harry looked down at his shoes. "Er...nothing."

Angelina, who was sitting on a nearby armchair, overhearing their conversation, said sympathetically, "She must be miserable, serving detention with Diggory. She terribly dislikes him."

A smile crept up Harry's face secretly. Poor Kate, he thought compassionately. He strongly wished she was there. He wanted to talk to her. She was the only one who seemed to have unrequited faith that he wouldn't get killed in this tournament. He felt a warm and thankful feeling growing inside of him, and wished even more that she was there, just to look at her and spend a few moments...

"...pushed him in the lake! She must've felt good after that." Harry heard Angelina say to two second years sitting nearby at a table.

Harry particularly admired Kate's stubborn attitude and her obvious desire to stick it to the man and bring the little people glory. He leaned back into the comfy arm of the sofa, staring dreamily into the roaring fire. There was Kate in his mind, and only her...

----------------------

Kate pushed her fingers into the now thick chocolate substance that was in the large silver bowl sitting on the counter, working small brown nuts. She had pulled her hair back into a tight bun, as to not get any in the chocolate. She worked silently, careful to get peanuts in every region of the bowl. Her and Cedric had not said anything to each other since their work had begun besides "pass the peanuts." Kate found it almost peaceful, besides the fact that she was with him, so far the person she disliked the most at Hogwarts. Well, besides Professor Snape, and all the Slytherins.

Kate decided she had mixed enough, so she pulled her hands out of the chocolate. A few little flecks of brown flew from her fingertips. One landed squarely on Cedric's forearm, creating a perfect drop of chocolate.

Cedric stopped mixing and looked at the speck, intrigued. He looked up to Kate, who had her back to him, looking for a spatula in a nearby cabinet. A smirk crept up his face as a devious idea came into his head. He knew he shouldn't. He knew it. He had better sense than that. But after how she was always sassing him, how she had pushed him into the lake, how she insisted she hated him, it was just so...

...irresistible.

Cedric pulled his hands quickly out of the chocolate and grabbed a wooden spoon lying next to the bowl. He scooped up a large amount of chocolate, looked at it hesitantly for a second. Then, smiling mischievously...

Kate felt the warm feeling of chocolate against the back of her neck. It sent a strange shiver through her. She tried not to flinch, as she heard laughter behind her.

Kate smiled, suppressing her anger. It's on, she told herself. Holding nothing back, she clutched onto the spatula she'd just located, scooped up chocolate from the bowl, and flung it with all her might at Cedric.

The chocolate hit him squarely in the chest. He looked momentarily taken aback, then he retaliated, a smug look on his face. He quickly took another scoop of chocolate and flung it at Kate.

It hit her in the forehead. She took another scoop and threw it rapidly. Cedric ducked as the chocolate soared over his head.

"Ha! You missed." he teased. But Kate had retaliated quickly, and before he knew it, Cedric was hit in the face with flying chocolate.

It had become a war. A chocolate war. Forgetting everything about how she should behave and how much trouble they were going to get into, Kate gave everything she had into flinging chocolate at him.

A strange feeling had struck her. She never thought she'd actually have it around him, but it happened. She didn't know why. It wasn't that delightful, being chocolate-covered, but she couldn't hold it back, as a laugh erupted from her.

She was having _fun_.

Cedric felt the same way, quite enjoying pummeling her with gobs of chocolate. It was very entertaining. The fact he was having fun with her kind of frightened him, and quite confused him. The terribly disliked each other. So how did they have _fun?_

Kate had lifted her whole bowl, threatening to dump the chocolate on Cedric. Just then, the door opened, and in stepped Professor McGonagall, who had come to check in on their progress.

Some progress...

"Miss Lowe! Mr. Diggory! What is the meaning of this!" she stammered, as Kate stared at her, horror-struck, half poised over Cedric with a bowl of chocolate. Cedric was half-way ducking, also staring at Professor McGonagall in horror. They were both covered with the brown substance. Kate set down the bowl and Cedric stood up straight.

McGonagall shook her head in disgust, saying, "That's it! Double detention! My office, tomorrow at noon. This is very disappointing behavior. Miss Lowe, you have a reputation to keep as a new student. And you, Mr. Diggory, I would never expect behavior like this from you. Proceed immediately to your dormitories. I don't want to see you again this evening." She stepped out the kitchen hurriedly, a disgruntled look upon her face.

Kate stepped forward, blushing. She stepped right into a puddle of chocolate that had formed on the floor, and she slipped right onto her bottom.

She began laughing. It was just so _funny_, and she didn't understand why.

Cedric began laughing too. She strangely didn't care.

Cedric looked at her humorously, covered head-to-toe in chocolate, admiring her laughter. He outstreched a hand to her. She took it gratefully, and he pulled her up.

They left the kitchen together, Laughter still lingering between them. Kate looked up at him, seeing something different. Something besides complete loathing and hate. Something than his so-called perfection. She saw a real person. Someone, she concluded, she wouldn't mind getting to know. She examined his chocolate splotched face. A trail of brown ran down his cheek and forked, one turning to his ear and the other towards his chin. His eyes were full of humor as laughs still trilled off of his lips. There was a small drip of chocolate in his brunette hair, a drop falling onto his shoulder.

They reached the marble staircase. They stopped momentarily, looking at each other unsurely. Cedric smirked and stuck out his hand to Kate, saying "Well, good fight."

Kate shook it, laughing heartily. "Yeah. Thanks." She then turned and headed up the stairs, leaving Cedric on the landing.

"Kate," he called up after her.

"Yes?" She answered, turning back to him.

"Goodnight." He replied.

"Goodnight." Kate proceeded up the stairs again, disgusted with herself. Ugh, Kate, she told herself. Do not try and look for something more than a self-glorifying nitwit inside of him. You aren't going to find it. But Kate had a hard time agreeing with her hate anymore, and she became very, very confused as she got into bed that night. She just kept picturing him, with his laughter-filled eyes and chocolate stained face. She admitted, she didn't hate him as much. But everything in her mind was trying to force down the strange desire within her to get to know him better.

She finally fell asleep, with his final words lingering in her mind...

_Well, good fight._

_--------------------_

A/N: Waharar. There is the chapter. Yay, conflict and changes in attitudes! And what's up with Harry? Stay tuned to find out! Please review! 3


	6. His Shoelaces

Disclaimer: So how about those airplane peanuts?

A/N: Yay, another chapter. Enjoy the end of your winter breaks and the long depressing stretch ahead called January. Blegh, I hate January. Anyway, thanks for reading! Please review!

Thanks to:

**Ale: **Thanks! That's really flattering, I'm glad to know you think my writing is that good. And don't worry about being sugar high. It happens to all of us, so yay.

**Mysticdark1:** Thanks for reviewing! And yes, I've joined. Thanks for the add!

**katy-ducky:** Thanks for the review! I'm glad you liked it.

**tropicaltoadfly:** Thanks. Yes, Kate _may_ have a little thing for Cedric, but she'll never admit it. He he. -evil grin-

**Iris Knotwise: **Hehe, thanks! I actually got the idea for the whole chocolate fight from my friend-who specializes in romantic comedy situations-except it was ice cream. And in her version the boy swept the girl up in his arms and...well, you get the point.

**faith08:** Thanks for the fav!

**Boni: **Thanks, if I need more Spanish help, I'll ask you. I was using one of those free translation websites, and they're not always accurate. So thanks for the offer.

**RobynLesko: **Thanks for the fav!

----------------------

Someone Like You

Chapter Six - His Shoelaces

"If I loved you less, maybe I could talk about it more." -Emma

----------------------

Kate slept good that night, and no aftertaste of the previous night stayed with her. In her right mind she decided she disliked Cedric again. No look-inside-of-him things popped up in her head.

Cedric was likewise–expect he never _hated_ Kate–that he was no longer lingering over the night before and the humorous things that had taken place. He had fallen asleep the previous night smiling, remembering the look on Kate's face when he'd pushed chocolate on the back of her neck. It was hilarious.

Kate had managed to make herself angry about having to serve detention with Cedric again. She thought about it all day, feeling sorry for herself, wishing it wasn't her who had to spend the evening with the "self-proclaimed genius", as she put it.

At breakfast, Kate told her friends the tale of the night before as she munched down blueberry pancakes and hash browns. Harry listened intently, hardly nibbling his food as Kate reminisced. He found himself being insanely jealous of Cedric, wishing it was him who got to spend the evening with Kate. He deserved it more than Cedric, anyway. Kate didn't like Cedric anyway, and Cedric seemed to always get what he wanted...

Then Harry realized he had zoned out on Kate's voice, and he tuned back in promptly.

"...then he told me we had had a good fight. Really! The nerve of that boy! It's really intoxicating. And I mean that in a _bad _way." Kate told them.

Angelina, on her left, laughed. "Sounds like you've gotten him into quite a bit of trouble."

Kate nodded. "Yes, I have."

"Well, on behalf of all the supporters of our dear Harry here, thank you for bringing a hurt onto Diggory's–_ahem_–reputation." Fred reinforced.

Kate laughed. "Thanks. I think I've rather done a good job." She then turned to Harry at her right, and asked, "So, have you got anything on the first task yet?"

Harry shook his head. "But Hagrid wants to see me tonight. It might have something to do with the first task, but I'm not sure."

Kate nodded in understanding. "I see. Well, if anyone's gonna leak secrets to you about the tournament, it'd be Hagrid. He cares a bundle about you, Harry."

"Yeah, Hagrid's a very good person." Harry added. But he found himself not wanting to talk about Hagrid. He wanted to talk about Kate, and to Kate...

Harry swallowed down his strange feelings and tried to eat his breakfast. But he found himself not hungry at all.

----------------------

Kate left breakfast early again and spent the rest of the morning reading _Pride and Prejudice_ in the common room. The next time she looked at her watch, it was 11:58, two minutes until she was supposed to be at Professor McGonagall's for detention. Panicking, she jumped up, taking her book along with her, and ran out of the room.

Kate reached Professor McGonagall's office five minutes late. Cedric was already there, and Professor McGonagall was sitting impatiently behind her desk.

"Er...sorry I'm late, Professor," Kate said breathlessly as she ran into the office. She looked from Cedric, who was sitting in a chair by the desk, to Professor McGonagall, and then back to Cedric, who gave her an uncertain look.

"Miss Lowe, it is not a wise choice to arrive late to detention. But fortunately for you, since I'm getting tired of giving you detention, I'll let it slip." Professor McGonagall told her.

Kate sat down cautiously in the seat next to Cedric, not daring to say anything.

"Today I have chosen your punishment a little more carefully, so hopefully you can't make another mess like last night's debacle." she told them.

Kate and Cedric exchanged smirks.

"So this afternoon, you will be working in the greenhouses. You are to dehead and water all the plants. I trust from your herbology classes you know how to do this. So without further ado, please go straight there and get to work. Please try not to cause any problems." She instructed them.

Cedric and Kate stood. "Right, Professor," they said in unison.

"Good afternoon," Professor said, dismissing them.

The two frustrated students left her office hastily. This time, Kate took the lead, walking a few paces ahead of Cedric and walking quickly to make sure that distance was kept.

"Kate," Cedric called out to her. Kate, to her own disgust, stopped in her tracks and turned around.

"Yes?" Kate sighed.

Cedric reached her side. They began walking again, at a slower pace.

"I have to say I'm sorry for this. It's my fault, you know, starting the whole food fight thing." he apologized.

"That's okay. Don't, er, worry about it," Kate replied uncertainly.

"I 'spose we're even now." Cedric sniggered, looking down at her.

Kate couldn't help but smile. "Yes, the score is tied. I hope you aren't going to make any more attempts for detention."

Cedric smirked. "Yeah, right. I won't if you won't."

"Okay, it's a deal." Kate told him.

Kate looked up into his face. He wore a quirky and satisfied smile. It was nice. Then her gaze traveled to the floor, and she stared at her shoes. Black and rather uncomfortable, she remarked to herself. Then she looked at his shoes, black as well. She noticed the laces had become untied on both shoes, and they nicked the ground with rhythmic precision.

"Your shoes are untied." She remarked slowly, looking up at him.

Cedric raised his eyebrows, looking from his shoes to Kate. "Oh, er, yeah. That happens a lot. Can't get the bloody things to stay tied." He told her.

Kate gave him a skeptical look. "Why don't you double tie them?" she asked.

"I do." He answered strongly. "Nothing seems to work. They always managed to come untied again."

Kate smiled, looking at their shoes again as they exited through the main doors and began the trek across the lawn to the greenhouses.

She looked back up at him. "Do you do the twisty thing?" she asked.

Cedric sniggered. "The twisty thing? There are many twisty things in tying shoes. Which one?" he asked.

"You know, the twisty thing like this." Kate told him, gesturing with her fingers, tracing imaginary circles with them and then pushing them together.

Cedric laughed out loud then. "I'm supposed to get which twisty thing you mean by that?"

Kate shrugged. "I did my best. You were the one who missed it," she mocked.

"This is a very strange conversation." Cedric remarked earnestly, laughing. Kate couldn't help laughing either. They were talking about shoelaces, of all things. Shoelaces. It was very strange, and somewhat deluding in the fact that it distracted them from remembering how they were going to detention.

Cedric eyed the book under Kate's arm. "Are you planning on doing some reading?" he asked quizzically.

Kate remembered the book. She looked at it briefly, then said, "Oh, uh, yeah. I was reading it, and then realized I was late, so I just brought it. I didn't have time to put it away."

"I see." Cedric said comprehensively. "What is it?"

Kate blushed, reluctantly showing it to him. "Er...Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen."

"Ah, yes, Austen, notorious for engaging romances, am I right?" Cedric smirked.

"You...you've read it?" Kate asked skeptically.

"Oh, no. But my mother...she's a romantic. Always trying to get me to read them." Cedric reminisced. "You read any others besides that one?"

Kate shook her head. "No. I've only read Pride and Prejudice. But it very well may be my favorite book. You should really give it a read sometime."

Cedric laughed. "That's not my type of book."

"So what _is_ your type of book?" Kate asked mockingly.

Cedric thought on it for a moment. "A good murder mystery, that's what I like."

Kate sniggered. "Yeah, those are good, too."

They reached the greenhouses. They entered, and while Cedric looked around for gloves, Kate set her book down on one of the dusty tables.

Cedric located the garden gloves. He walked over to Kate, and handed her a pair.

After putting them on, Kate asked, "So, where do we start?"

"I'll start on this end of the room. You go on the other side, then we can meet in the middle." Cedric suggested.

"Alright." Kate agreed, walking over to the other side of the room. She felt a sudden sinking feeling inside of her, realizing she wouldn't get to talk to him anymore. But then her mind came into power, and she asked her self, what would we talk about anyway? _Shoelaces?_

Kate quickly got to work, deheading and watering the plants. It seemed to go by very quickly, and before she new it, her and Cedric met in the middle of the room.

"Well, that didn't take long." Cedric sighed.

"That's all we have to do?" Kate asked unsurely. "It seems like Professor McGonagall would've given us a harsher punishment on account it was double detention."

Cedric shrugged. "That's all she told us. So I guess we are done."

"Well, great. I really should be going. I wonder if Harry's talked to Hagrid yet. He was hoping for...nevermind." Kate trailed off.

"Well, okay. So long. I'll put away the gloves." Cedric offered.

"Thank you. I'll see you around." Kate said, rushed, as she handed him her gloves and rushed out of the greenhouse.

Cedric put away the gloves, then began to leave. Then he noticed Kate's book lying on one of the musky tables. She had left it. Cedric picked it up, deciding to return it to her later.

----------------------

Kate sat amidst her friends at dinner that evening. Harry had not visited Hagrid yet. Kate chastised Harry humorously that he should not leave her hanging in suspense like this.

"How was detention?" Harry asked, finding himself eager to know.

"Oh, just fine. It went really fast, luckily. We just had to dehead and water the plants in the greenhouse." Kate told him.

"Oh, yeah, you and Diggory." Angelina remarked, listening in on their conversation.

Kate nodded. "Yeah. You know his shoelaces don't stay tied? It's really distracting..." Kate told them. She didn't add they were almost distracting in a good way. They were such a good conversation starter. But she wasn't sure _why_ she wanted to start conversations with him, anyway.

Then everyone around her was giving her the same strange look; Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Angelina.

"What?" Kate asked.

"His..._shoelaces?_ Why the bloody hell do you care about his _shoelaces?_" George asked.

Kate examined her own mind. Why did she care? She couldn't even answer that question. They were just shoelaces, anyway.

"Hullo, Kate," she heard a voice behind her say. She reluctantly recognized it, and she turned to greet Cedric as he stood there, smiling faintly.

"Oh, er, hi, Cedric," Kate said uncertainly, feeling every eye around her on them. She noticed the familiar book in his hands, and the shock filled her that she had left it behind in the greenhouses.

"You left this behind." Cedric told her, holding the book out to her.

Kate took the book gently. "Oh, thanks for bringing it."

"Well, I'll see you in class on Monday." he said.

Kate nodded. "Right. See you."

Cedric walked away. Kate turned around again, settling the book into her lap. She faintly heard the scuffle of his shoelaces against the stone floor as he walked back over to the Hufflepuffs.

Angelina was grinning at her. "You're madly red." she told Kate mischievously.

Kate looked at her, appalled. "What?"

"It's because of him, isn't it?" Angelina accused.

Kate shook her head quickly. "Oh, God, no, not because of him! It's because all of you were staring at us like some fantastic spectacle."

Angelina laughed. "Right."

"Kate, how could you? Fraternizing with the enemy..." Fred trailed off.

"What? Fraternizing? First of all, it's not fraternizing when he brings me a book. Second of all, I terribly dislike him. Yes, he is so..." Kate couldn't manage to find the word she was looking for. She didn't rightly know why she disliked him. She wasn't quite sure if she even did anymore. It was confusing her quite a bit.

----------------------

Kate didn't fall asleep very quickly that night. She kept hearing the click of those shoelaces against the stone floor. They were strangly hypnotizing and fascinating. She could somehow still hear his words. _Can't get the bloody things to stay tied. _Why couldn't she get over it? There was nothing there. Cedric was just a bloke. And a vain bloke at that. He probably had a mirror in his pocket at all times so he could look at himself whenever he wanted to.

But as Kate slipped in and out of an insomniac state, her mind kept going back to those shoelaces and his voice. His shoelaces. What did they mean to her? Somehow, deep down inside, she knew they meant something more. She just couldn't figure out what that was.

Get over it, she told herself. After all, they're just _shoelaces._

----------------------

Fascinating new thing  
You delight me  
And I know you're speaking of me

Fascinating new thing  
Get beside me,  
I want you to love me

I'm surprised that you've never been told before  
That you're lovely and you're perfect  
And that somebody wants you

Fascinating new thing  
The scene-makin'  
Want a temporary savior

Fascinating new thing  
Don't betray them  
By becoming familiar

I'm surprised that you've never been told before  
That you're lovely and you're perfect  
And that somebody wants you

I'm surprised that you've never been told before  
That you're priceless and you're precious  
Even when you are not new.

F.N.T. - Semisonic

----------------------

A/N: Well there you go! Hope you liked it. Things are actually going somewhere now, yay. I would write more for the next chapter right now, but my sex slave(hehe, j/k) Tim wants me to watch his Fraggle Rock and Aqua Teen Hunger Force DVDs with him. So please review! Much love, my homefries!


	7. The Scarf and the Heart

Disclaimer: Stick that in your blunt and smoke it!...Yeah, I said blunt!

A/N: Yuss, another chappie! I'm sorry to say things may slow down a bit more now as school has started again and I, although its surprising, have a life and my duties go first to my schoolwork. So sorry if the update flow really slows down. I'll try to get at least one chapter up each week, but I can't make any promises. Maybe more, though. I have days off for the next to weeks so I will take full advantage of those and write for you. 3 So please, bear with me. Much love. I've realized I keep contradicting myself from things I said in the first chapter and these more recent ones. Feel free to let me know when I do this, so I can clear things up. Also, I'm trying to include more of Ced's feelings, because the love story has the guy, too. I like the emotion to be evenly balanced when I write things like this, and I don't think I've done very much. Anyway, enough of my rambling. On with the chapter!

Thanks to:

**tropicaltoadfly:** Don't worry, I'm a romantic sucker, too. :B Thanks for reviewing!

**Mysticdark1: **Thanks! And I think I joined your c2...ack, darn my craptastic computer and lousy Internet service! Try sending me another invite. Maybe that will work.

**RobynLesko: **Thanks! I've had very weird conversations, too. There was one just the other day about basketball poles and bungee jumping...XP And yes, my sex slave and I had fun. XD Fraggle Rock is the shite! I love Spraket. Hehe, good times.

**Iris Knotwise: **Waharhar, don't feel guilty. We all do it. XD Thanks for reviewing! Yes, Harry is an obstacle...yay for the love triangle!

**katy-ducky: **Thanks! Sure thing.

**Boni: **Thanks for reviewing, I'm glad you liked it! And I'm from southern California originally, but I only lived there for a few months, so that doesn't really count. I currently reside in Utah.

**HelloLonely:**Thank you muchly! 3 I'm glad you think it's funny!

**This chapter is dedicated to teh sexy Tinnesha. I only have one thing to say to you, and that's URN you. 3 Thanks. **

----------------------

Someone Like You

Chapter Seven - The Scarf and the Heart

"It taught me to hope." -Mr. Darcy, Pride and Prejudice

----------------------

Kate sat the next morning at breakfast reading letters she had received from her family and her friends in Spain. She'd received one from her mother, father, and sister Raquel, but not her brother, Alex. Kate didn't expect letters a lot from him, because they weren't that close. But she hadn't received one letter from him all year. Kate hoped he was okay.

Her friends Bridget and Camilla had written her. Kate was glad when she heard from them and they told her about all the happenings back at Magnifico. It made her feel back at home.

Kate was re-reading Bridget's letter and preparing to write a response, when she heard a hoarse and restrained whisper in her ear.

"Dragons."

Kate looked over her shoulder at Harry, who was looking very worn out and a little pale. He was frowning as he took a seat next to her.

"What?" Kate asked curiously.

"The first task. We've got something to do with dragons. I'm not sure what we have to do, but it has to do with dragons. Hagrid took me to see them last night." Harry told her, a note of anxiety in his voice.

Kate cringed, her stomach sinking. Anything to do with dragons had to be bad business. She didn't know quite what to say. She finally thought of something that sounded remotely good.

"You'll do fine. I know it." she told Harry, nodded in exaggeration.

Harry looked into her deep blue eyes and the corners of his lips turned upwards. "Thanks. I appreciate it. I really do." he replied, gasping for air, fumbling over his words. He found his mind cloudy and found it was particularly difficult to concentrate on anything but Kate.

"Oi, Kate, good day!" Said the cheery voice of George Weasley as he and Fred sat down at the table. "Slept in a bit today."

Harry snapped out of his trance and listened to the twins. He was giddy, unable to concentrate on anything. He felt a hot flush of jealousy as he saw Cedric Diggory walking out of the great hall. Harry wanted to be the one alone with Kate.

Kate decided to take an early leave and went into the common room to write her response to the letters she had received. She read over them one more time. She decided to tackle Bridget's first, since she had written the most questions. Kate pulled out a scroll of parchment and her ink and quill, and began writing her letters.

_Dear Bree,_

_I hope you're doing well, too! Things are just swimming here. School work is going great, and I'm learning useful stuff. The most exciting thing that has happened is this tournament that the school is holding. There are two other schools that are competing, and a champion is picked from each school. Except there were two from our school, somehow. One of them is my good friend, Harry. You've heard of him. _

Kate hesitated, re-reading Bridget's next question. She had asked if she had met anyone special. No, she hadn't. She hadn't met anyone. So why was it so hard to write that?

_No, I haven't met anyone. Sorry to disappoint you._

Kate couldn't think of anything else to put on the matter. Just then the portrait door swung open and Hermione entered the common room.

"Guess what! The first Hogsmeade visit is next week. You'll be coming, won't you?" Hermione asked excitedly, rushing over to Kate's side.

Kate nodded and smiled, looking up at her. "Of course. But you didn't need to come and tell me."

"Harry asked me to. He seemed to really want to know if you were coming or not." Hermione told her suspiciously.

Kate didn't know what to say. She was filled with an awkward uncomfortable feeling that overwhelmed her. Harry seemed very interested in her lately, and she didn't know what to think of it.

Hermione left and Kate went back into writing. She crossed out what she had just put and started over.

_I haven't met anyone. At least, I don't think so._

And Kate was not talking about Harry.

---------------

Cedric hadn't spoken to Kate since he had returned her book to her, but they made acknowledging nods to each other in the hall. He was grateful to receive even that, since last time he checked she still terribly disliked him.

He had spent much of his time dreading the first task. Hoping some kind of clue would come along about what was going to take place. He had leafed through books on past tournaments, but he hadn't succeeded in finding a common point that would clue him in. The only thing he knew was that it was in two weeks and it was going to be dreadful.

The week flew by mysteriously, and the Hogsmeade visit came fast. Kate and Angelina were heading out together. Angelina was waiting for Kate in the dormitory while she gathered her things. After a minute or two of waiting, impatience took it's toll and Angelina left early, telling Kate to catch up with her later.

Kate hurriedly grabbed her scarf and bag, while scuttling her feet into her shoes. She missed terribly, getting the left shoe on the right foot, and vice versa.

Kate ran out of the common room as soon as she was ready. There were a few people there, including Fred and George (who were shoving unidentifiable objects into their pockets). Kate waved to them as she rushed by.

Kate walked very quickly through the near empty corridors, eager to catch up with Angelina. She saw few people still lingering, and everyone else was at Hogsmeade. Kate's feet made a loud echo through the hall as she ran down the stairs. She biffed at the bottom of the marble staircase, barely about to keep herself from falling on her face. She dropped her scarf as she stood on the landing, halfway bent over from her fall. She saw the scarf land by someone's feet.

Kate reached out to pick it up, but her hand collided with another's, her fingers brushing gently across his skin. Kate's hand distinctively retracted as the other picked up the scarf. Kate's eyes met Cedric's a lot of sudden bewilderment on his face.

"You...dropped this." he told her, holding out the scarf to her, eyes not leaving hers.

"Um, yeah..." Kate stuttered, grabbing the scarf absentmindedly, feeling herself slightly flustered. "Thank you." Kate broke their eye lock as she tied the scarf around her neck. She then noticed that she was standing close to him. Way to close for someone she hated.

Kate took a nervous stepped backwards, feeling her cheeks burning. She didn't know _why _they were burning. She was just...and he...was so frustrating.

"You heading to Hogsmeade?" Cedric asked warmly, breaking the tense awkwardness between them.

Kate nodded. "Yeah, I was just running to catch up with a friend. And you, do you just stand here at the stair landing for fun?"

Cedric smirked and shook his head. "I'm waiting for someone."

"Who?" Kate blubbered to her own dismay.

"Oh, Cho Chang. She's a Ravenclaw." Cedric answered.

Kate stood up straight, fixating her spine. She began to walk slowly, and stopped after she had made a half-circle around Cedric. She felt a portent need to harass him for this, slightly offended deep down.

"Hmm, and inter-house relationship. That's pretty racy for you, golden boy." Kate smirked speculatively.

"What?" Cedric exclaimed, taken aback. "It's not like that. She's just my friend."

"Oh." Kate said, finding herself a little surprised at that. "I see."

"And did you call me golden boy?" Cedric asked accusingly.

Kate nodded pridefully. "Yup."

"Well, that's nice of you to say." Cedric remarked sarcastically.

"Oh, bollocks, I don't have time for you!" Kate stammered, beginning to tromp away.

"Kate," Cedric called after her, turning on his heel. Kate stopped and turned around.

"Yes?" Kate asked professionally.

"I hope you have fun." he told her, smiling friendly.

Kate nodded, smiling back. She was strangely touched by his comment. It was just nice that he was thinking of her, that was all.

Then Kate heard her own mouth speaking before she could stop it. "Thanks. You know, you're really not that bad. You're actually a decent guy, I guess. I mean, you still irritate me, but...that's okay, I guess." she trailed off.

Cedric smirked and said, "Well thanks. But I take it you still hate me, right?" he teased.

Kate rolled her eyes and said, "Yes, that's right."

Cedric laughed. "Well, on the bright side, you don't think I'm an idiot."

Kate nodded, laughing too. "Well, so long. Enjoy your time."

"So long." Cedric said sweetly, watching her turn and walk out the doors. He felt a strange feeling inside of him. His hand still tingled where her fingers had brushed his skin. He was quite distracted by that for a moment, then he saw Cho coming down the stairs.

"Hello, Ced, who were you talking to?" Cho asked as she reached his side.

As they started to walk, Cedric smiled to himself and said, "Oh, just a girl."

"A girl, huh?" Cho laughed. "Sounds like you..."

"Don't say it, because it's not true." Cedric accused.

"What?" Cho asked innocently.

"Nevermind." Cedric replied.

----------------------

Kate enjoyed her trip to Hogsmeade after she caught up with Angelina. She asked what had been taking her so long, and Kate replied, "Oh, I just ran into someone." Kate didn't mention who that someone was. She wasn't sure _why _she didn't say it was Cedric. Not like she had anything to hide, like she fancied him or something. All that she had finally concluded was that he wasn't as bad as she first thought he was, which was a big step up from loath. She didn't need to conceal his name like they had been having some elicit conversation that needed to be kept secret. So she didn't understand why she didn't just say who it was.

As Kate sat in the common room that night, she felt inspired to ask Harry something as she went over the events of the day. Strangely, the run-in with Cedric had left the biggest impression on her mind. It wasn't that interesting, she told herself. But it still ruled its way to the top.

As she sat in a plush armchair and Harry sat on the couch next to Hermione, Kate asked, "Harry...the other champions. Do they know about the dragons?"

Harry looked at her attentively, then thought it over in his mind. Krum and Fleur probably had been told by Karkaroff and Maxime, but Harry couldn't be sure about Cedric, unless Professor Sprout had found something out and told him.

"I think Krum and Fleur know, but I don't know about Cedric." he finally told her, after an extended silence between them. He cast his eyes to the floor, almost as if her eyes were to beautiful for his.

"I see..." Kate was surprised to feel a knot materialize in her stomach. Worried? About Cedric? Okay sure, she was. She was worried for everyone. She was even slightly worried for that prick Draco Malfoy when Professor Moody turned him into a ferret. So why did she care?

Kate felt rushed as she asked her next question. "You'll...tell him won't you? I mean, just to make it fair." she asked, lowering her voice.

Harry felt slight pangs of jealousy again, but beat them down, nodding. "I will."

"Thank you." Kate was feeling unnerved now. She needed to have a serious intervention and evaluate her mind.

She said good bye to Harry and ran up to the dormitory, spending the next few hours thinking and sitting on her bed.

Kate was a thinker. She used her mind. She wasn't one to believe in intuition. She wanted to logically deduce everything. She was no match for Hermione in brains, but she spent a lot of her time letting her mind rule her.

Cedric was just like anyone else to her. So why did she care that she was worried about him? Why did she care that she didn't want to say his name to Angelina? Why did she feel that every time her friends talked about them she got so flustered, even though it was obvious some sort of competitive friendship had been formed?

Kate cradled her head in her hands, coming to a realization. She had just spent three hours thinking about him. That was not normal. You idiot, she told herself, getting working up over nothing. Then she felt something else inside of her, that made her realize.

Kate never listened to her heart. Maybe it was time to stop using her mind to figure everything out and take a chance. Her heart knew where it wanted to go, and that scared and confused her. She knew then, that it was time to stop letting her mind make all the decisions and give her heart a chance.

----------------------

I never understood before  
I never knew what love was for  
My heart was broke, my head was sore  
What a feeling

Tied up in ancient history  
I didnt believe in destiny  
I look up you're standing next to me  
What a feeling

What a feeling in my soul  
Love burns brighter than sunshine  
Brighter than sunshine  
Let the rain fall, i don't care  
I'm yours and suddenly you're mine  
Suddenly you're mine  
And it's brighter than sunshine

I never saw it happening I'd given up and given in  
I just couldn't take the hurt again  
What a feeling

I didn't have the strength to fight  
Suddenly you seemed so right   
Me and you  
What a feeling

What a feeling in my soul   
Love burns brighter than sunshine  
It's brighter than sunshine   
Let the rain fall, I don't care  
I'm yours and suddenly you're mine  
Suddenly you're mine

It's brighter than the sun   
It's brighter than the sun  
It's brighter than the sun, sun, shine.

Love will remain a mystery  
But give me your hand and you will see  
Your heart is keeping time with me

What a feeling in my soul  
Love burns brighter than sunshine  
It's brighter than sunshine  
Let the rain fall, I don't care  
I'm yours and suddenly you're mine  
Suddenly you're mine

I got a feeling in my soul ... _repeat chorus to end_

Aqualung - Brighter Than Sunshine

----------------------

A/N: YAY ROMANCE. It begins. Heh heh heh. I hope you enjoyed reading that as I did writing that. Everything is going to get romantic now, so through your hands in the air and cheer! But the end it not even in sight, oh no. We are even still many, many chapters away from that Kodak Moment first kiss. But it will come, oh yes. X3 What the heck is with Kate? And what the heck is with Cedric? And what the heck is with Harry? With Kate being more friendly towards Cedric, how will this affect Harry? More of this and more next chappie! 3 Please review and keep reading, my lovelies!


	8. The Marks of Friendship

Disclaimer: I was saying boo-urns!

A/N: Celebration, another chapter:D I hope you are all having a splendiferous January. It seems a little less of hopeless bleak despair for me this year, strangely. :3 That's nice, I guess. Plus next week, I'm being graced with a four-day weekend which I tend to take advantage of writing this. Please keep reading and reviewing, my lovelies! Thank you so much!

**Iris Knotwise: **Yes, teenage angst...those were the days. XD I _always _hated the boys I loved in highschool. Argh, oh well. Thanks!

**tropicaltoadfly: **Thank you muchly! Yay for the first signs of love. :3

**HelloLonely: **Thanks! I'm glad you like it!

**RobynLesko: **Thanks! Yes, this story is going be very long and you're going to have to wait a long time before it's really romantic. But it will come, don't fear! I will feed you as long as you don't bite me. My boyfriend(aka sex slave Tim) bit me on the arm. I yelled at him for it. Anyway...

**Mahyla: **.. I'm glad you ended up liking it, though that first review was a little harsh. Sorry if it seems like I'm rushing it. I don't mean to. Anyway, the shoelaces are my favorite so far as well. I'm going to go ahead and delete the first review since you changed your opinion. ; Hope that's okay with you.

**Wavy Blue: **Thanks, hon, for the review and the watch! I'll watch you back, whether you like it or not. :9

**Mysticdark1: **Thanks, more chappies to come! Yes, I think I'm in the c2.

**luv sean ferris: **Thanks for the alert! Sean Ferris is sexay. :P

**OverthoughT: **Thanks for the alert!

**This chapter is dedicated to Ryan, for ALWAYS making me laugh. I like cereal, too, hon. You watch too much Nickelodeon for being two and twenty, but I still love you anyway!**

**I love the quote by Shakespeare below, BTW. It's so true. :3 You should read this one.**

----------------------

Someone Like You

Chapter Eight - The Marks of Friendship

"For aught that I could ever read,

Could ever hear by tale or history,

The course of true love never did run smooth." - William Shakespeare, _"A Midsummer Night's Dream", Act 1 Scene 1_

----------------------

The first task was only a few days away, and Harry had not yet fulfilled his promise to Kate of telling Cedric about the dragons. He kept planning to, but every time he saw Cedric, his insides filled with jealousy, and besides, Cedric was always surrounded by a throng of friends, so it would be difficult to talk to him alone. Harry kept procrastinating and putting it off, but he knew sooner or later Kate would ask him about it and then he would be in a tight spot.

He wanted her to like him. He wanted her to like him so badly.

Harry finally decided to tell Cedric. Wednesday morning after breakfast, Harry followed Cedric out the door when he left and Harry used a charm to split Cedric's bag. Cedric told his friends to go on to Charms without him. Harry took this opportunity and told Cedric about the dragons. The entire time Harry was talking to Cedric, he felt his inside writhing. Harry knew Kate was technically friends with Cedric now, and he felt challenged by Cedric. Not only were they competing over the Triwizard Cup, but Harry felt they were competing over Kate, as well.

After Harry's message, Cedric ran to Charms, unnerved by Harry's warning. Dragons seemed a bit extreme. He was filled with nervousness, finally reaching the classroom and entered. Everyone was already there and class was started. He looked around anxiously before spotting a seat on the left side (Angelina was on the right)of Kate in the back of the room. He walked swiftly back there as many of the eyes followed him momentarily, then returned to Professor Flitwick.

"You're late, golden boy." Kate accused mockingly as Cedric took a seat quietly next to her. Kate had made a habit of using that name whenever she was making fun of him.

"It's not my fault. My bag broke, and Harry stopped to talk to me." Cedric explained in a whisper.

Kate smirked. "Tsk, tsk. What did he talk to you about?" she asked quietly.

"The first task." Cedric answered, pulling out his Charms book, his quill, and his ink.

Kate's eyebrows raised. "Oh. Dragons, yeah?" she asked in a hushed tone.

Cedric nodded. "Yeah. He told you?" he asked almost inaudibly.

"Yes." Kate whispered.

"And you didn't tell me?" Cedric accused quietly.

"I told him to tell you! And he did, so no harm done." Kate explained.

"Oh. Right." Cedric whispered.

Professor Flitwick cleared his voice, clarifying his knowledge of the conversation between Kate and Cedric.

They stopped talk abruptly. Damn, Kate thought. I had a good comeback.

After a few moments had passed, Cedric whispered, "D'you know anything about dragons?"

Kate looked at him sharply, and shook her head. "Don't you?"

Cedric shrugged. "Just what I've learned from Care of Magical Creatures, which isn't too much." he whispered back.

"Sounds like you've got some work to do." Kate mocked quietly.

"What d'you mean?" Cedric asked, hushed.

Kate shot him a dirty look. "Oh, nevermind."

"You never answered the question." He accused quietly.

"What?" Kate snapped.

"D'you know anything about dragons?" he asked again.

She looked at him smugly. "Yes, actually I do." she whispered.

He raised his eyebrows, leaning a little bit closer to her. "Will you help me then?"

Kate gawked at him silently. "Are you kidding me?"

"Oh, come on. You even said you didn't hate me anymore." Cedric reasoned.

"I said no such thing." Kate hissed.

"You're my only hope." Cedric insisted.

Kate looked at him, looking into his grey eyes. She opened her mouth to retort again, but something in his eyes stopped her. She saw something that made her think that he really, honestly wanted _her_ to help him, when surely there was someone else more learned on dragons who could help him.

"Fine." Kate finally answered, shaking her head at her self.

"Thanks. I promise I'll make it up to you sometime." Cedric promised.

"Okay," was all she could think of to say, bewildered at what she had just done. She had just voluntarily consented to help Cedric, whom she certainly wasn't about to become friends with...or at least, if they weren't friends yet. Kate wasn't sure.

Kate groaned to herself, not listening to any of what Professor Flitwick was saying. She hated how ever since she had met Cedric, she had no idea where they stood together. With her other friends, she new how close she was to them. And with her enemies, she new how much she hated them. But Cedric was different. She didn't know whether they were friends, or rivals, or just acquaintances. It seemed to change everyday. At least, that's what she thought.

After class, Cedric asked Kate to meet him in the library on Thursday evening. Kate nodded smugly, then hurried off to Divination.

Kate never told Harry directly about her helping Cedric on the dragons, but he heard Angelina talking about it to Hermione. Upon hearing this, Harry felt his skin turn cold and his bitterness towards and jealousy of Cedric turned up another interval. What was Kate playing at? She terribly dislike Cedric. So why would she do something like this?

Kate swallowed down a lump of bitterness that had formed in his throat. He didn't deserve her, he told himself. Sure, Harry knew Kate would never date Cedric. But she was even less likely to ever like Harry in the way he liked her.

Hopelessly, Harry went to bed early, wondering if there was anything he could do.

----------------------

Kate was fashionably late to her appointment with Cedric. She sauntered into the library about 7:15, fifteen minutes later than they had agreed to meet. Cedric was sitting calmly at a rectangle table near the back of the room, reading out of a large book titled Doom and Other Things Dragons Bring. Kate couldn't help but look as she read the bleak expression on Cedric's face.

He then noticed her, looked up, and smirked. He didn't dare chastise her for being late. She'd probably just leave. Cedric was cautious to not push any of her buttons.

Kate sat in a chair opposite Cedric. "Hullo, Kate," he greeted calmly.

"Hi." Kate responded shortly. She didn't know whether to regret her decision to help him study or not yet.

"So, enlighten me, please." Cedric requested as Kate got comfortable. "Know anything that's going to help me not be engulfed in an inferno?"

Kate shrugged. "Luckily for you, I do."

Cedric looked around uneasily. Kate laughed.

"Okay. So, my uncle works with dragons. Every summer when he came to visit us, he'd reminisce his tales of his scaley friends. I learned a lot, actually." Kate explained.

"Fascinating. Go on." Cedric said, a slight tone of mock in his voice.

Kate went on. "So, there are many different types of dragons, but only certain ones can survive in the northern hemisphere, so we can rule out certain ones that you wouldn't have to face." Kate told him.

Cedric nodded comprehensively.

Kate began again. "First of all, there's the Norwegian Ridgeback--" Kate meant to say more, but then she felt Cedric's knee touching hers. It moved away as quickly as it had come, but Kate stopped speaking, feeling her heart skip a beat.

Cedric didn't seem to have noticed anything. After Kate was silent a moment, he gave her a confused look and said, "Are...you okay?"

Kate understood she must have had a very strange expression on her face. She snapped back to reality and went on. "Er...yeah. Anyway, Norwegian Ridgebacks..." Kate went on talking. Cedric listened intently to everything she said, taking specific notes down on a pad of paper. He found it surprisingly nice to listen to her voice, even though it was her voice that had mocked him and chastised him so many times. Usually, after listening to one person's voice for a long period of time, like Professor Snape's, he'd get a headache. But Kate must've talked for a near hour and a half, and Cedric's mind never started to get irritated.

Kate finally finished telling him what she knew. She didn't have any idea how long she had talked. It had only seemed like a few minutes, but her watch told her it was near an hour and a half.

Then she noticed that sometime during her talk, Cedric's knee had brushed against her's. But this time it hadn't moved, and it was still there when Kate realized it.

Cedric glanced at his watch. "Well, it's almost eight forty-five! That felt like it took no time at all."

Kate nodded in agreement, still frazzled by the fact that his knee was still touching her's. "Yes, I didn't seem like I was talking that long..."

"You must be a good teacher, then." Cedric grinned and winked.

Kate laughed. "Oh, sure. I bet you were asleep, and that's why it went by so fast."

"D'you think I can sleep with my eyes open, my torso upright and write stuff down?" Cedric smirked.

Kate shrugged, sniggering. "It's a magical world."

Their eyes met, and Cedric smiled in a satisfied way. "Well then, unless you have any more library business, you're free to go. Sorry I kept you away from your mates for so long."

Kate laughed and grinned smugly. "So you think you get to tell me what to do now?"

Cedric rolled his eyes and nodded. "Yes, I guess so."

"Just because seventy-five percent of the female student body would happily eat off their own arms for you doesn't mean you can tell me what to do." Kate retorted playfully.

Cedric laughed. "That's a good one. And I assume you aren't in that seventy-five percent?" he asked.

Kate nodded pridefully. "I wouldn't eat my own arm for all the pasta in Italy."

"I can see that. After eating your arm it doesn't seem like you would have much of an appetite for pasta." Cedric joked.

Kate laughed. "But pasta is my favorite!"

"Really?" Cedric asked, raising his eyebrows. "Which kind?"

"Fettuccini Alfredo, of course." Kate answered promptly.

"Strange. A Spanish girl who loves Italian pasta." Cedric evaluated dreamily.

Kate stuck out her bottom lip. "Why is that so strange?"

"Oh, just...I dunno." Cedric answered.

"What about you? What's your favorite food?" Kate asked.

Cedric thought about it for a moment. "Well...I like seafood."

Kate tilted her head. "Really? I love it, too. Especially shrimp. Can't go wrong with shrimp."

Cedric laughed. "You heard of jumbo shrimp? Talk about an oxymoron."

Kate started laughing even harder. "How did we even get talking about this?"

"Well, you said any girl would eat their arm off for me, and it just went off from there." Cedric, explained, laughing hard as well.

Kate laid her head on the table as she laughed. "You know, as much as I hate to admit it, you really are an okay guy."

Cedric smiled. "Thank you...I guess."

"You've made good strides getting on my good side, even though you're competition to my friend and you got me into detention." Kate explained.

"I've been trying." Cedric replied honestly. Their eyes met again.

Kate was reminded of what he had said earlier. _You're my only hope. _Was he that desperate to be her friend? Why did he care? Did he just want everyone on his good side, or what?

" Well, you really ought to get going, before you get into trouble for being out after hours." Cedric finally said after a moment of silence.

"Oh, right." Kate said, almost sadly. She actually wished she could stay and chat longer. She stood up, picking up her bag.

"Good night, Kate." Cedric said sweetly.

Kate smiled to herself. "Good night, Cedric."

"Oh," he said shortly. "You can call me Ced, if you want."

"Okay, then." Kate sniggered. "Good night, Ced."

Cedric nodded. "Good night." he said again.

Kate left feeling warm and full, like being with Cedric had been fulfilling. It was strange. She actually enjoyed talking to him. She wasn't regretting it like she had thought she would.

Cedric felt the same, quite happy Kate was on his good side now. He enjoyed her company a lot. He found her to be funny, nice, intelligent...the best kind of friend.

So what were they, he wondered. Were they friends?

----------------------

When Kate entered the common room, Angelina, who was sitting at a table working on Defense Against the Dark Arts homework with Fred and George, asked her how it went.

"It was...nice." Kate responded frankly.

Harry, who was sitting nearby, heard this and felt his stomach knot. He tried to tune out anything else they said, but that was it. Kate proceeded immediately to the girls' dormitory.

She found herself still hearing his words. They were strangely haunting her, and she couldn't get them out of her head, like a song she had listened to that wouldn't leave her.

_You're my only hope._

_I've been trying._

And strangely (and frighteningly), Kate didn't consider this to be a bad thing.

----------------------

You wanna know more, more, more about me

I'm the girl who's kicking the coke machine

I'm the one that's honking at you cuz I left late again

Hey! Hey! Hey!

Could you see I want you by the way I push you away, Ya!

Don't judge me tomorrow by the way I'm acting today

Mix the words up with the actions do it all for your reaction

Ya! Hey! Hey!

Get tangled up in me

You wanna know more, more, more about me

Gotta know reverse psychology

I'm the reason why you can't get to sleep

I'm the girl you never get just quite what you see

Hey! Hey! Hey!

Could you see I want you by the way I push you away, Ya!

Don't judge me tomorrow by the way I'm acting today

Mix the words up with the actions do it all for your reaction

Ya! Hey! Hey! Get tangled up in me

You think that you know me

You think that I'm only

When everything I do is only to get tangled up in you

You wanna know more, more, more about me

I'm the girl that's sweeping you off your feet

Hey! Hey! Hey!

Could you see I want you by the way I push you away Ya!

Don't judge me tomorrow by the way I'm acting today

Mix the words up with the actions do it all for your reaction,

Ya! Hey! Hey!

Get tangled up in me

----------------------

A/N: Yay, I finished the chapter! Sorry, I would've had this up sooner, but I spent too much time dancing to The Bravery during the weekend, so all my time was taken up. -tomatoed- Okay, just kidding. But I did have a busy weekend. I hope you liked this chapter. I did. More weird conversations. Aren't they the best? X3 So where do Kate and Cedric stand? Will Kate ever admit to being friends with Cedric? And how will Harry continue to respond to their friendship? More of this and more next chapter:3 Please review, my lovelies!


	9. Tripping

Disclaimer: Gimme some of your tots!

A/N: Wahoo, another chapter. :3 I just can't stop writing! That is good news for you, the reader. At least, I think so. XP I hope you enjoy! Please review!

Thanks to:

**luv sean ferris: **Thank you muchly:3 Of course Kate is Cedric's. Just not yet, unfortunately. X3 But keep reading, that time will come!

**tropicaltoadfly:** Glad you thought it was interesting. Yes, I love The Bravery. :D I saw them in concert with Weezer. It was teh shite!

**Iris Knotwise: **Nice job evaluating the questions. X3 You're quite close, actually. Good work. Thanks for the review!

**RobynLesko: **Thanks for the review, I'm glad you liked it:D I hope you're flirtatious needs are satisfied. XD

**HelloLonely: **Hey, thanks, glad you liked it:3 Homework hurts my brain, too.

**Mysticdark1: **Yes, Kate is a sixth year, like Cedric, while Harry is a fourth year(meaning she won't get with him, of course, but you should know that. :)

**Wavy Blue: **Thanks hon:3

----------------------

Someone Like You

Chapter Nine - Falling

"To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides." -David Viscott

----------------------

The day of the first task had come much quicker than Cedric or Harry would have liked. They both felt pressured and like they hadn't had enough time to prepare. Just imagine if you hadn't been told at all, Cedric reminded himself.

On that particular morning, Harry hardly ate any breakfast. Kate, who had slept in, finally arrived at breakfast, and sat down next to him.

"Harry! You don't look so well." she commented as she took a helping of hash browns. "Are you scared?"

Harry could only nod solemnly, a small bit of his anxiety gone since Kate had arrived.

"You'll do just fine." Kate reassured him.

Harry was somehow unsure about that.

Kate ate quickly as there wasn't much talk amongst them right then. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were silent. The only ones jibbering were Fred and George, who were taking bets on who would do the best. Cedric seemed to have the lead, followed by Krum. Harry was last. There weren't many people besides Gryffindors who believed that, unfortunately.

At about noon, the students started shuffling into the Quidditch pitch to grab close seats for the event. Kate went with Angelina, Ron, and Hermione. They arrived early, getting seats near the front.

Dumbledore stood up, made some announcements about the task. The champions would have to steal a golden egg from a dragon. Kate felt a cold sweat run through her at the thought of someone being crushed to death or burned to a crisp.

Finally, the order was announced. Cedric would go first, followed by Krum, Fleur, and finally Harry.

Moments later the dragon was released from his cage. Cedric stood appeared in the pit of rocks, looking pale and nervous as he saw the monstrosity before him.

He had to think quick. He saw the golden egg behind on of its legs. He panicked inside, but tried to look calm. He was somewhat unsuccessful, as the dragons tail came sweeping at him and he fumbled to the ground, dropping his wand.

He scrambled for it, ducking the dragons tail again just barely as it roared in anger. Cedric grabbed his wand, thinking as fast as he could. He saw a large boulder lying near the dragon. He pointed his wand at it, yelling a configuration spell.

The rock shifted shapes, taking the form of a dog. It began barking ferociously at the dragon. The dragon was temporarily distracted from Cedric, and he took this opportunity to run behind its leg.

But the dragon saw him out of the corner of its eye. It turned, blowing hot flames out of his mouth as Cedric dashed past.

"Kate...Kate! Earth to KATE!" Kate heard Angelina shouting. Kate was leaning forward, eyes peeled open, her knuckles white against the railing she was clutching onto. Her face had lost some color, and her jaw was opened slightly. Her eyes were filled with intense fear and worry.

Kate did not respond to Angelina. She was to into the moment. What was happening to her? Was he okay? How can he live, facing a full-grown dragon all on his own?

Surely she would've asked herself why she cared at all if she had had time to think about it. But there was no time to think then.

Cedric felt the hot flames lick the side of his face. He was sure he would have been burned to a crisp if he hadn't dove at that second towards the golden egg. He swept it up in his arms as he tumbled down into a small crevice. He cradled the egg, wishing it was all over. He squeezed his eyes shut, preparing himself for the worst. And then...

"Cedric Diggory has successfully grabbed the golden egg!" Dumbledore was announcing. Cedric peeled his eyes open. Well, his right eye, anyway. The whole left side of his face was filled with intense pain.

There was cheering in the stands, especially from the Hufflepuffs and female population. Cedric stood up, very unstable, his legs wobbly. He saw the dragon had been locked back into its cage by some professionals standing by.

Kate was simply ecstatic, as she grinned and then shook her fists. "Did you see that? It was-- " she stopped.

Everyone around her–Ron, Hermione, Angelina, Fred, George, Neville, Seamus, Lee Jordan–was giving a gawky look of complete shock.

Kate straightened her posture and said delicately, "Well, it wasn't that great, I suppose."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Angelina asked, giving her the cock-eye.

Kate said nothing. Had she really just reacted that way? Cheering and rejoicing? She swallowed a lump of doubt in her throat.

"What–do you have a thing for him? Like half the other girls in this school?" Angelina accused as everyone else listened in.

"Oh, God, no! He's just my-" she hesitated. "Friend." she finally finished. Then she added, "And besides, I would never be with him."

"I didn't ask if you'd ever be with him. I asked if you had a thing for him." Angelina accused again.

Kate shook her head rapidly. "No!" she answered defiantly.

"Ooh, Kate, mixing with the enemy!" Fred teased.

"Two star-crossed lovers...just like Romeo and Juliet!" George added.

Kate's jaw dropped. "You boys are impossible!"

They smiled curtly. "Thank you." they said in unison.

Harry's performance was spectacular. He had fought the dragon with precision and used the Accio charm to make his broom come to him so he could use it. It was a smart choice.

But Kate somehow felt that Cedric's was more spectacular than that. Technically, it really wasn't, if you evaluated all the points. But something leaped up from her heart and kept making her think that.

And she had come to the shocking realization that he was her _friend._ It was only a month ago that she had completely and utterly hated him. What had happened? She wasn't supposed to care like this. She cared about Cedric. He was her friend. And she didn't like that at all.

And the worst part was she could figure out what that was so bad...

Or maybe it really wasn't...

----------------------

Kate hurried to the hospital wing with Ron and Hermione to see Harry. He didn't seem to have suffered too badly, but they had taken him there anyway, along with all of the champions.

They were literally running. Finally, huffing and puffing they reached the hospital wing and bursted inside. Harry was in the second bed from the wall. Kate hurried there, excited to congratulate him. She reached the end of his bed, skidding to a stop, smiling loonily.

But she didn't really stop. Her shoe skidded, and her other leg came over it. Kate teetered over, falling into a heap on the floor in front of the next bed.

Her cheeks flushed. Why was she such a klutz, she asked herself, grumbling angry swears, as she got to her knees.

She heard laughter. Familiar laughter. He cheeks went even redder as she looked up and saw Cedric sitting on the bed, with an orange past smeared on the left side of his face.

Then Kate started laughing. Somewhat at herself, but mostly at the orange paste.

"You look like a mango." Kate told him frankly, as she stood up, a little wobbly from her fall.

Cedric gave her a sarcastically smug look. "At least I have an excuse for this. You just fell on the floor. Are you always-" He couldn't find the right word, so Kate finished it for him.

"A klutz? Oh yes, very much so." she said mockingly, putting her hands on her sides pridefully.

"That's good to know. You know, for future reference, or something." Cedric joked.

"So you assume I'm going to fall for you?" Kate said smugly, then realized what she had just said, putting a hand warily over her mouth.

Cedric gave her a strange look. Kate panicked inside, blurting out words. "I mean, you know, you assume I'm going to fall...in your presence...for your future reference?" she explained.

Cedric nodded, the light feeling between them gone. Fall for him? _Fall for him? _Sure, he knew what she meant. But saying something like that can be taken the wrong way. And he took it the wrong way...which felt like the _right_ way.

Fall for him? She'd never...and he wouldn't...

Kate finally broke the ice again. "So, nice show, I guess. Except for the whole mango-face thing. That can't be fun. How long do you have to keep it on?"

"Just a few more hours." Cedric answered quietly, still thinking about what she had said. "The burn should be completely healed when I wash it off."

"That's good. It wouldn't be so great to have the side of your faced burned. I mean, what would all of the fangirls think?" Kate teased calmly.

"It might not be too bad. I could shut my self off from society, get a mask, and be like the Phantom of the Opera...except, I would be the Phantom of Hogwarts." Cedric answered, rambling a bit.

Kate chuckled. "Really? Phantom of Hogwarts? That is the weirdest thing I have heard all day. And that's quite an accomplishment. I mean, I was talking with the Weasley twins this morning, and it doesn't get much weirder than that."

Cedric nodded pridefully. "I try."

Kate smirked. "Always trying to be the best?"

Cedric shrugged. "I guess so."

Harry sat talking to Hermione quietly. He was giving remote, unconcentrated responses to her questions, as he was listening in on Kate and Cedric's conversation. He felt himself go green with envy yet again and realized, that even though Kate denied it, she was Cedric's friend, plain and simple.

And Kate had just said something about falling for him. What was that all about?

"I've got to thank you again for your help on the dragons. I mean, it really helped me. It really did. Even though I still ended up turning my face into a fruit." Cedric thanked.

Kate smirked. "It doesn't matter what color you turn. You'll always be Golden Boy to me."

"So, are we friends, or not?" Cedric asked ina somewhat mocking way.

Kate shrugged. She knew it now. It was inevitable. "As much as I hate to admit it..." she paused. "I think we are."

Cedric laughed. "Well, that's good news."

Kate turned and began talking to Harry, who looked literally green. Kate didn't noticed. She was quite happy, and she didn't know why.

Kate finally said goodbye, finding herself somewhat reluctant to leave. He was good to talk to. She didn't know why. She couldn't explain it. She had never wanted anything to do with him. But somehow, now that they were actually friends, she found it hard to hate him. She wanted to be around him, with his quirky personality and quick-wittedness, sophistication and optomism...and Kate found herself somehow settled, like being Cedric's friend was what she had wanted deep down all along...

And Cedric was happy, too. He had wanted to be her friend, and now that she finally surrendered to the fact...it made him feel good. Like he had just climbed a very tall mountain.

They both fell asleep quickly that night, at peace...

-----------------

What day is it? And in what month?  
This clock never seemed so alive  
I can't keep up and I can't back down  
I've been losing so much time

Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do  
Nothing to lose  
And it's you and me and all of the people  
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you

All of the things that I want to say just aren't coming out right  
I'm tripping on words  
You've got my head spinning  
I don't know where to go from here

Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do  
Nothing to prove  
And it's you and me and all of the people  
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you

There's something about you now  
I can't quite figure out  
Everything she does is beautiful  
Everything she does is right

Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do  
Nothing to lose  
And it's you and me and all of the people  
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you  
and me and all of the people with nothing to do  
Nothing to prove  
And it's you and me and all of the people  
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you

What day is it?  
And in what month?  
This clock never seemed so alive

Lifehouse - You and Me

-------------------

A/N: Bah, short chapter, sorry. XP The good news is I may have another one up by Sunday if things go the way I want them to. I don't like the end of this chapter. But now that there friends, it can get romantic. So be happy. :3 And holy poo, I put a cultural reference to PotO in there.But come on. I'm sure wizards see musicals. It seems only sensible. Anyway, please review:)


	10. The Remedy

Disclaimer: Look! A dog with a puffy tail!

A/N: Hello again! It's a four day weekend, so I will take this time to write you, my lovelies, a new chapter! The big one-oh! We've reached double digits. That's the first time I've done that with fanfiction. So that's a good sign. :3 I hope this one goes better for me, as I wasn't too satisfied with the last one...hopefully you like it:D Please read, review, and have a nice week!

Thanks to:

**luv sean faris: **Thanks! Don't worry, everything is going to get more romantic from now on out, so don't worry. Just keep reading, and you'll be satisfied...X3

**RobynLesko:** Thanks! n.n I'm glad you liked it. Actually, I had been thinking about doing a dream sequence...because anything you want can happen in those. X3 You read my mind! Heheh. Anyway, sorry about your job. :( Life sucks sometimes. But I'm happy this made you smile. :D And even though I've already picked the dream sequence for this chappie, there can always be more...:P

**tropicaltoadfly: **Yes, I liked that part, too. I do that a lot, where I say stuff that comes out wrong, but sounds right to me, lol. Thanks for reviewing!

**Iris Knotwise: **I'm glad you liked it! Yes, Phantom Cedric would be pretty damn sexay. I can only imagine...:3 Thanks for the review!

**Wavy Blue: **Thanks! I'm glad you liked it.

**HelloLonely: **He he, thanks! Yes, Rob is fine. X3 And you gotta love those play on words!

**Mysticdark1: **Sure thing, glad we got that cleared up. :3 Thanks for reviewing!

**This chapter is dedicated to Lucas. You are the weirdest person I know, but that's why I love you! I'll never forget that time you were Gaston in the musical and you went skipping down the hall in your pretend muscle shirt. LOL. We need to go the O-Garden soon or the tradition will die! It can't die:o And the wafer cookies, omg. Best. Idea. Evar. We will do that again someday, too.**

----------------------

Someone Like You

Chapter Ten - The Remedy

"True love cannot be found where it truly does not exist. Nor can it be hidden where it truly does." -Anonymous

----------------------

Kate was sitting quaintly in at a small tea-table in a long extravagant yellow dress, slipping from a small porcelain cup as she read out of the book that was laying on the table in front of her. The air around her was warm and summery. She looked up from her reading, gazing across the long stretch of delicate green grass and triumphant trees, fresh with morning dew. Her gaze turned towards the house off in the distance, where she could see one of her sisters walking around outside in her nightgown. Kate took no notice of it...

Then she heard a voice behind her. "Lizzie..."

She knew that voice. And she had been wanting to hear it so bad, for so long, to hear him say her name...

"Mr. Darcy..." Kate turned and nervously stood up, not quite knowing what to say. She felt overwhelmed by love, like speaking would pop an unsettled bubble in her heart.

"Lizzie, I hope you're not mad. Caroline...we're not..." Cedric said nervously, teetering back and forth from his heels to his toes.

Lizzie nodded comprehensively. "I know. It's okay." she said quietly, not daring to blink, as if he would leave if she did.

Kate was swept up as his grey eyes looked into hers...she couldn't bear to look away.

And before she knew it, she was in his arms, and his lips were on hers...and she gave hers fully...blissfully and full of love, they kissed, a perfect kiss...and it got deeper, and deeper, and Kate wished she'd never leave his arms...

"KATE! _KATE!" _Hermione was shouting.

Kate peeled her eyes open. She was sleeping a very discombobulated position, almost sideways on the bed, on her stomach. Her hair was halfway matted against her face, little wisps sticking up everywhere.

Kate looked up, seeing Hermione fully dressed in her school robes standing next to her bed.

"It's nearly ten-thirty! Classes started in a half hour–you better hurry!" Hermione exclaimed hurriedly.

Kate shot up. But as soon as she did, a cloudy feeling filled her mind and she became extremely dizzy.

She groaned, falling back down onto her bed.

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked, a little worried.

Kate muttered something incomprehensibly.

"You better go up to the hospital wing and have Madame Pomfrey check you out. You don't look very well. I'd go with you, but...I can't be late to class!" Hermione explained.

Kate lazily turned over in bed, like she was ignoring her. She felt very weak and cold, so she pulled her blankets close to her. It didn't seem to help.

"Oh, bother." Kate heard, before she slipped easily into sleep again.

The next time she woke up, she was in the hospital wing, in a white bed near a window. She was instantly cold again, and yanked the sheets and blankets up to her shoulders. Her head felt cloudy still, and thinking was hard.

"Finally, you wake." Madame Pomfrey said irritatedly, as she touched the tip of her wand to Kate's left temple.

The tip of the wand turned flaming red. "Yes, you have a fever."

Kate had seen that charm used before, but she didn't know the color code. "How can you tell?" she asked tiredly.

"Well, red means fever. Orange means you're normal. Purple means you're below your normal body temperature, and blue, well, that means you are dead. So obviously, you aren't dead, so that should be good news to you. But you need more rest, and lots of drinks." Madame Pomfrey explained.

Kate looked over to a large glass on the night stand that had been filled with sweet, pulpless orange juice.

"Thanks." Kate said quietly, taking a drink from the glass.

"You'll need to stay in here until you are well again, but that does not exempt you from your schoolwork. I trust you have friends who can bring you your work in the evening?" she asked.

Kate nodded. She had at least one person in each class who would be willing to...

"Okay. Now, all you need to do is rest. Sleep. You could read, but you don't have any books. So just sleep for now. I'll check on you next time you're awake."

Kate nodded again, and she laid down flat on the bed. She fell into sleep again.

The next time she woke up, it was to the smell of something hearty and sweet. She peeled open her eyes again, and saw a tray of food on her night stand. There was a large bowl of chicken noodle soup, accompanied by a helping of cornbread. Kate smiled. It looked very good.

Moments later, Madame Pomfrey was back to her, checking her temperature again.

"Still feverish, but you look a little better. Are you feeling warmer?" she asked.

"Kind of." Kate answered tiredly.

"Well, eat some dinner. It will make you feel better. Then I anticipate your friends will come and see you...even though you need to rest..." she grumbled, walking off.

Kate pulled the tray onto her lap, taking in sweet scent of the soup. Finding herself quite hungry, she ate it quickly, the warm soup sliding down her throat with comfortable ease. The cornbread was warm, too, and buttery. She was done eating in a matter of minutes.

A few minutes later, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the Weasley twins arrived at the hospital wing.

"Kate! You look absolutely disastrous today!" George said with a smile.

"Why, thank you." Kate replied, rolling her eyes.

"Kate, how are you?" Harry asked earnestly. He had been worried about her all day, obviously, and couldn't wait to come and see her.

"Just...cold and shaky, and my head doesn't work to well." Kate explained humorously.

"Oh, that reminds me. Here's your Defense Against the Dark Arts homework. Professor Moody is giving you the watered down version. You have to write a response paragraph. The rest of us have to write an essay. You lucked out." Fred said, putting the homework on the night stand.

"I believe Angelina's got some stuff for you too, so she'll be coming up later as well."

Kate nodded comprehensively.

----------------------

Cedric had noticed Kate's absent that day, and felt himself a little worried. Sure, he was worried about his friends. But this felt different.

And when she hadn't reappeared by dinner time, he was quite concerned. He could bet her friends would know where she was.

After dinner, he caught up with Angelina in the hall. "Hey, Angelina," he said, as she turned around.

"Yes?" Angelina asked skeptically.

"Where's Kate today?" he asked, trying not to sound so concerned.

"Oh, she's come down with the flu. She's been in the hospital wing since this morning." Angelina explained.

Cedric felt somehow relieved. Okay, so the flu wasn't good, but at least it wasn't anything worse than that, like getting eaten by one of Hagrid's skrewts.

"Are you going to see her?" Cedric asked.

"I will a little later on this evening. Why?" she asked suspiciously.

"I...just want to visit her, too, that's all." Cedric explained slowly.

"So you're implying you'd like to go visit her with me?" Angelina asked in a clarified tone of voice.

Cedric nodded. "Yes."

"Well, okay, I guess. Meet me at the foot of the stairway to the hospital wing at 8:30." Angelina appointed.

"Okay. I'll be there." Cedric responded.

Angelina had begun to walk away, still feeling suspicious about the whole thing, when Cedric called out, "Oh, and Angelina..."

She turned around. "What?"

"Will you bring Kate's book? The...er...Pride and Prejudice? I'm sure she'd like to read it while she's sick." Cedric asked.

Angelina nodded, feeling some of her suspicions had been confirmed. "I will."

"Thank you." Cedric said.

"No problem."

Angelina reached the Gryffindor common room. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had just returned from visiting Kate, and were now grouped around the fire. Harry and Ron momentarily left the couch to go to a table and work on their mass of Potions homework. Angelina and Hermione were left alone.

"Hey, Hermione," Angelina said quietly, leaning over.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"Have you noticed anything...weird about Kate lately?" she asked.

"Yes. And she's not the only one. Harry has...well, I think he fancies her." Hermione whispered.

Angelina nodded. "He seems to...but...I don't think he's the only one."

Hermione gave her a befuddled look. "Who else?"

"Well, you know, Kate and Cedric Diggory have seemed to have become good friends as of late. But I was just out in the hall, and he wanted to come see her with me. Okay, so that's not the unusual part. But he seemed really worried about her, and he seemed really eager to see her. And he even especially asked me to bring Kate her book. Seriously. I live with Kate, and I never knew she had some special book!" Angelina exclaimed quietly.

"So you think Diggory fancies Kate?" Hermione asked comprehensively.

"I dunno, but he sure seems to care about her a lot." Angelina answered.

"Maybe he's just a nice, considerate guy." Hermione suggested.

"Well, I'll get to see some first-hand interaction between them tonight, so maybe I'll see something that confirms my suspicions." Angelina observed.

"D'you think Kate fancies him as well?" Hermione asked.

Angelina shrugged. "She would never admit it if she did. She seems to think that'd be terribly cliche, or something."

Harry had only caught a few words of their conversation, but he was able to piece together what they were talking about. Diggory likes Kate? Maybe. Kate likes Diggory? Not bloody likely. Maybe in another life, but not here. Having Cedric as competition would have made him sweat, if it wasn't for the fact that Kate had some sort of sworn grudge against him, even though they were friends. And besides, Angelina didn't know if Cedric did like Kate. The only way to know for sure would be to ask him, and Harry would bet Angelina wouldn't do that.

----------------------

Kate was reading lazily through her Defense Against the Dark Arts homework. The chapter was on Vampire Bats, and while Kate could've probably written a whole essay about them, she was grateful for only having to write a paragraph. It was less thinking.

She glanced at the clock on the wall. It was nearly eight thirty. It was getting late, and she was getting tired again. She wondered if Angelina was ever coming to visit. She wouldn't mind if she didn't, because that would mean Kate wouldn't have to get her other homework. But Angelina was one of her best friends, so it would be nice to talk to her...

----------------------

"Are you ready to go?" Angelina asked slowly, as she walked up to Cedric, who was already waiting at the bottom of the stairs, an eager look on his face.

"Yes." Cedric answered, sounding excited. Angelina had already added three points to her list. One, he was there first. Okay, so maybe she was just late, but still. Second, he looked eager. Okay, so Angelina was eager to see her, too. Third, he sounded excited. Okay, so Angelina was excited, too. Angelina felt her stomach sink, thinking her suspicions may turn out to be wrong.

"Oh, here's the book you wanted. You can give it to her since it was your idea." Angelina said, handing Cedric the old copy of _Pride and Prejudice_.

"Thanks." Cedric said, smiling, taking the book. They began to climb the stairs silently.

Angelina kept telling herself just to ask him. Ask him if he fancies her, she told herself. But she just couldn't do it...

Finally, the reached the hospital wing and entered.

Kate's head snapped over as soon as she heard the door open and close. She saw Angelina first, and smiled, and the Cedric. She felt something strange inside of her set off and she remembered the dream she had had. Oh, my God, she panicked inside. I was Elizabeth Benett. And he was _Mr. Darcy_. And I _kissed _him! Oh, it was nightmare! She told herself, though she actually, truly, liked the dream.

"Hey, Kate," Angelina said, reaching her bedside, adding to the homework stack on her night stand.

"Hullo, Kate," Cedric said. "We, er, brought this." He handed Kate the book.

Kate smiled at it fondly as she took it from him. "Thank you so much! I've been dying to read..."

They exchange satisfied glances. Angelina, in the middle, felt weirded out. There was definitely something there.

Kate felt herself feeling better since Cedric had arrived, despite the fact he brought her dream back to memory. It wasn't such a bad dream, she decided, as long as she forgot the part about how he was Mr. Darcy...

No one said anything for a moment. Finally Cedric asked, "So, how are you feeling?"

Kate shrugged. "I'm feeling better, now, actually." she didn't add that it seemed to have something to do with him. That seemed very, very strange.

"Well, I hope you get better soon. And enjoy the book." he said considerately.

Kate smiled and nodded. "I will. And by the way, you look a lot nicer without the mango face. The only bad thing is now I don't have such an easy target to make fun of you."

"You still have the fangirls." Cedric said, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, right, Golden Boy. I forgot about them." Kate smirked.

Angelina gawked at them. Were they..._flirting? _It sure seemed like it. Angelina felt her suspicion level go up a notch.

Finally, Cedric said goodbye, and they left. Angelina wouldn't have bothered to stay with him, but she had finally decided she was going to ask him about liking Kate. She was going to do it.

So once they were out in the hall and a fair amount of ways down the stairs, she asked plainly, "Do you have a thing for Kate?"

Cedric stopped in his tracks, answering promptly. "No. She's just my friend!"

"Oh." Angelina responded. That was all they spoke on the way back down the stairs.

She still felt suspicious. He could lie about something like that, despite him being so honest and fair.

And Cedric wondered if he had really given the right answer. Kate was his friend, and he cared a lot about all of his friends. He would try to make them feel better and visit them when they are sick, too. But this was different. He could've stayed to talk to Kate all night. She was very intriguing...but he didn't have a thing for her, did he?

Kate fell asleep very soon after they left. She had turned onto her side, clutching _Pride and Prejudice _close to her. She smiled deeply as she fell out of consciousness, almost wishing that the dream had would come again...and she realized just how much better she felt since he had come, like he was some sore of magic remedy, like he was all her heart needed...

And although neither Kate nor Cedric knew it for sure, Angelina knew it. There was definitely something between them. Something definitely more than friendship. And she knew it was only a matter of time before they figured it out as well.

----------------------

I'm so cool, too bad I'm a loser  
I'm so smart, too bad I can't get anything figured out  
I'm so brave, too bad I'm a babyI'm so fly, that's probably why it  
Feels just like I'm falling for the first time

I'm so green, it's really amazing  
I'm so clean, too bad I can't get all the dirt off of me.  
I'm so sane, it's driving me crazy  
It's so strange, I can't believe it  
Feels just like I'm falling for the first time

Anyone perfect must be lying, anything easy has its cost  
Anyone plain can be lovely, anyone loved can be lost  
What if I lost my direction? What if I lost sense of time?  
What if I nursed this infection? Maybe the worst is behind  
It feels just like I'm falling for the first time  
It feels just like I'm falling for the first time

I'm so chill, no wonder it's freezing  
I'm so still, I just can't keep my fingers out of anything  
I'm so thrilled to finally be failing  
I'm so done, turn me over cause it  
Feels just like I'm falling for the first time

Anything plain can be lovely, anything loved can be lost  
Maybe I lost my direction, what if our love is the cost?  
Anyone perfect must be lying, anything easy has its cost  
Anyone plain can be lovely, anyone loved can be lost  
What if I lost my direction? What if I lost sense of time?  
What if I nursed this infection? Maybe the worst is behind

Barenaked Ladies - Falling for the First Time

----------------------

A/N: Haplah:3 I hope you liked it. Sorry there wasn't more Kate/Cedric interaction, but there will be lots more next chapter. I love that song, by the way. It's such a good one. So what's going on here? Do Kate and Cedric really like each other? For the answers, keep reading! Please review, they are greatly appreciated! Much heart, my lovelies:D


	11. The Study

Disclaimer: Did you hear that?

**Fantabulous note from the authoress:**

Good day, my lovelies! Yes, another chapter. Good news for you! I've outlined this story until the end and it's around thirty chapters. Might be more, might be less. But keep reading:3 Please review!

Sorry this update took so long. I am using a friend's laptop because my darned normal computer is making it impossible to edit my stories. But I can do it on this one. Unfortunately, I may only be able to access this computer once a week. Fortunately, this may me two or three chapters will come at once. Or if my computer decides to cooperate again, we can stop worrying. Now, on with the story!

**The Thanks To has been moved to the end of the chapter. **

**This chapter is dedicated to Grady, aka G-rad. X3 We are so cool. I will never forget the time we played SMB3 for like 20 hours straight. At least we finally won:3 We are such nerds. Twenty-two years old and we spend a whole day at home playing Nintendo. -glomp-**

----------------------

Someone Like You

Chapter Eleven - The Study

"We can only learn to love by loving." -Iris Murdoch

----------------------

Kate was well and back to her normal temperature the following day. She had slept a good fifteen hours straight, and finally made her way out of the hospital wing at noon.

She reached the Gryffindor common room, changed into her robes, and decided she might as well just wait there until lunch. It was only in a half hour, and she didn't want to waste time going to the last ten minutes of Potions. It was definitely not worth it.

So after a half hour of reading _Pride and Prejudice_, unable to rid the image of her as Elizabeth and Cedric as Darcy, Kate left for lunch.

There was a cheery welcome when Kate reached the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. She sat down between Angelina and George.

"You chose a good day to miss Potions," George told her. "We had to concoct rash-healing mixtures."

"Ours turned out giving rashes." Fred added in.

Kate laughed as she took a bite out a tuna fish sandwich. She noticed that Harry was unusually silent. She didn't take much notice of it.

----------------------

Angelina and Kate were drawing Quidditch matches on their notebooks in Transfiguration class. It was near time to be out. Then Professor McGonagall said, "Now, I have an announcement."

Kate half-way tuned in as she drew a stick-figure beater hitting a bludger down the sketched pitch.

"There is a tradition that always comes with the Triwizard Tournament, called the Yule Ball." Professor McGonagall told them.

Kate only heard those last words, but it was all she needed to hear. Her head shot.

Professor McGonagall explained the ball. It would take place on Christmas evening. The boys were to ask the girls. And she requested that no one embarrassed the house of Gryffindor.

Kate bit her lip. A dance? Who would ask her? That all seemed very nerve-racking. She exchanged apprehensive glances with Angelina.

The class let out, and they left for Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"I can't believe it. A dance! How...intriguing." Kate finished. "I've never really been to a ball before. It sounds so elegant, though."

Angelina nodded in agreement as she and Kate made their way down the stairs towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

"Oi, Kate," she heard. Her head snapped around and she saw Cedric coming towards them. Angelina turned on her flirting detector to further prove her hypothesis.

"Oh, hi, Ced," Kate responded, smiling nervously.

"It's good to see you out of bed. How are you feeling?" he asked with a chuckle.

"A lot better, surprisingly. Well, I did sleep for fifteen hours straight, but still." she reasoned.

"Well, good then. I 'spose you heard about the ball?" he asked.

Kate nodded apprehensively. "Er, yeah. I did."

"Yes. Apparently, the champions have to enter the dance first. I'm really not looking forward to that."

"Why? I'm sure the fangirls will love it." Kate teased.

Cedric laughed. "Well, I guess, but I think some of your, er, ungracefulness rubbed off on me. I may just trip and fall."

"That was harsh, Golden Boy." Kate pouted sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

Angelina, feeling ignored, said finally, "Well, who are you going to ask?" loudly to Cedric, and Kate felt her ears burning.

Cedric went suddenly red as he answered quietly, "Er, I dunno yet."

Bollocks he doesn't, Angelina thought.

"Er, Kate, I was wondering, since you were so helpful for the last task, d'you think you could help me with the next one? You see, we've got this egg..." Cedric trailed off.

"Yes, Harry's got one, too. But really, I'm not some fountain of knowledge, you know. How do you know I can help?" Kate asked skeptically.

"Well, I don't, but I just...you really helped me out last time. Will you please help?" he asked again.

"Okay..." Kate answered unsurely.

"Great. So, could I meet you in the library? Tonight?" he asked.

"Okay." Kate answered again.

"Alright then. It's a date–I mean, you know, a plan. On this date. Er...you know what I mean." Cedric trailed off.

"Just drop the shovel and walk away from the grave." Kate teased, laughing.

"Thanks for the advice." Cedric remarked sarcastically.

----------------------

Kate, as usual, was late to her meeting with Cedric in the library. She tried hard to be there on time, but there was some sort of irreplaceable gene inside of her that made her late for everything important. And yes, Kate did consider this important.

"Sorry I'm late," Kate said in a rushed tone of voice as she sat down next to Cedric on the couch he was lounging on, the golden egg cradled in his hands. In front of him was a short table with a few books on it. As she reached him, he looked up and smiled fondly, glad to see her. He just seemed so comfortable in her presence. He could quite explain it, but it was...nice.

"It's okay." Cedric replied honestly. Kate returned his smile, feeling in higher spirits since she had arrived.

"So this egg." Kate began. "Any leads?" She settled back against the couch, getting comfortable. After all, she had no idea how long she would be there. Frankly, she didn't mind how long it was.

Cedric frowned and shook his head. "No, I'm quite stumped."

"Well, I'll try and do my best to help you out." Kate said with a friendly smile.

"Thanks. Do you have any ideas?" Cedric asked somewhat hopefully.

Kate leaned over, thinking hard. "Well, it sounds like wailing. So maybe we should start with wailing things. I bet their something in this book." She pointed to a book on the table labeled _Loud and Unusual Noises: A Dictionary of Things You Don't Like to Hear_.

"That's what I was thinking." Cedric agreed. "How about I look through that one, and you see if this one about magical creatures has anything to clue you in."

Kate nodded. She grabbed the ancient book off of the table and opened it, emitting a rancid smell. Kate cringed, causing Cedric to chuckle.

"Oh, shut it. It stinks!" Kate said with a laugh as she pushed Cedric's head softly.

"Girls." Cedric laughed.

"Whatever." Kate began looking through the pages of the book, trying to see if she could find anything. As soon as she started reading those pages, she realized how tired she truly was. A wave of exhaustion came over her, and her temple started to throb. Her eyelids even started to droop.

She yawned widely and loudly as she flipped the pages. She found it so hard to stay awake...it was so quiet and she was so comfortable...what was there to lose?

She didn't know exact when it happened, but she fell asleep soon, very comfortable, in a blissful state of ignorance as the light around her closed eyes dimmed and she slipped into unconsciousness...

It seemed as hours later when she opened her eyes again, but when she did, she saw grey eyes filling with laughter as she heard Cedric say, "You snore."

Kate came to a full awareness now, realizing she was nestled quite comfortably against Cedric's arm, her head on his shoulder. He was still awake, reading out of the book.

Kate sat up straight, cupping her hand over her mouth and turning madly red. "Oh, dear God!"

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. Besides, its really dull and quiet, like your wheezing. Your snoring, I mean." Cedric commented, chuckling.

"I can't believe you didn't wake me up!" Kate stuttered exasperatedly. She couldn't believe herself.

"I'm sorry." Cedric said in a somewhat mocking tone of voice. Kate looked at him cock-eyed, glaring momentarily.

Then she told herself, petty yelling won't get you anywhere.

So she said, "Er...never mind. Did you find anything out?"

A smile spread across his lips as he said, "Yes, I did."

Saying nothing more, Kate said frustratedly, "Well, what?"

Cedric explained that the voices of merpeople were indistinguishable from wails to humans above water, but beneath the water their voices were lyrical and soothing. He believed the sound from the egg was the voice of a merperson, and he needed to listen to it underwater to understand what it meant.

Kate nodded apprehensively, still half-asleep. Numbly, her mind overflowing with left over dreams, she asked, "Can we...go?"

"Sure." Cedric said politely.

They left together silently, Kate tripping over her own feet as they walked. She couldn't help but look over at his own shoelaces again. Still untied, she noted to herself, and it brought memories trilling back, and they glided in her mind. She had had some good times with him, surprisingly, even when she terribly despised him. It just goes to show you first impressions can turn out to be wrong. Very wrong indeed.

He walked her to the foot of the marble staircase, and then there stopped. "Thanks for your help." He told her encouragingly.

Kate didn't say anything for a moment. Her mind was lost in a dwelling of some strange ray of hope. She couldn't stay focused on any one point. The only thing they had in common was they were all points that had to do with him, for Cedric. And for the first time, she really looked into his face. Humble grey eyes filled with laughter, curving slightly upwards on the outside, soft cheekbones gracefully falling down to his lips, shaped with love and humor. Thick eyebrows, but in the good way, and a centered nose, hardly any imperfection.

Kate wanted to hate herself for thinking like this. It wasn't right for her, it wasn't right for _him. _But there was something else, that made this different from just simple attraction to some handsome bloke that she just couldn't quite put her finger on.

Influenced by her sleep-deprivation and delirium, she looked earnestly up at him and she heard herself ask, "Who're you going to ask to the Ball?"

Cedric didn't flinch, didn't move a muscle. His lips stayed etched upwards on his cheeks, and he answered simply and calmly, "I have a candidate in mind."

Kate felt somehow satisfied with that answer, and Cedric hoped she was as well.

He didn't bother adding that that candidate, the one he'd want to dance with, spend an evening with, and gaze at for endless hours, was her.

----------------------

Turn it inside out so I can see  
The part of you that's drifting over me  
And when I wake you're, you're never there  
But when I sleep you're, you're everywhere  
You're everywhere

Just tell me how I got this far  
Just tell me why you're here and who you are  
'Cause every time I look  
You're never there  
And every time I sleep  
You're always there

'Cause you're everywhere to me  
And when I close my eyes it's you I see  
You're everything I know  
That makes me believe  
I'm not alone  
I'm not alone

I recognize the way you make me feel  
It's hard to think that  
You might not be real  
I sense it now, the water's getting deep  
I try to wash the pain away from me Away from me

'Cause you're everywhere to me  
And when I close my eyes it's you I see  
You're everything I know  
That makes me believe  
I'm not alone  
I'm not alone

I am not alone  
Whoa, oh, oooh, oh

And when I touch your hand  
It's then I understand  
The beauty that's within  
It's now that we begin  
You always light my way  
I hope there never comes a day  
No matter where I go  
I always feel you so

'Cause you're everywhere to me  
And when I close my eyes it's you I see  
You're everything I know  
That makes me believe  
I'm not alone  
'Cause you're everywhere to me  
And when I catch my breath  
It's you I breathe  
You're everything I know  
That makes me believe  
I'm not alone

You're in everyone I see  
So tell me  
Do you see me?

----------------------

**Authoress note:**

Yay! End of chapter. I'm sorry if it's short again ;x; I really don't like this one, except for the end. That was fun to write, and I was under the influence of liahime's pretty writing (go read it, I say!). So, yeah. Will Ced ask Kate to the ball? Or will someone beat him to the pitch? This and more next chapter. :3 It is halfway done already! Please review, my lovelies!

**Thanks to:**

**i luv Lupin AND Potter**: Thanks for the fav!

**Sophia: **-puts on Shakespearian hat- But kissing isn't the point of romance! -tomatoed- Just keep reading. That time will come. O-o

**Mysticdark1: **Hehe, thanks:3 Yay for singing that song. 8)

**luv sean faris: **Haha, thanks! It's okay there is nothing wrong with being caffeine high. I am all the time! -goes bouncing off the walls-

**HelloLonely: **Thanks! Yes, Pride and Prejudice is a great book, although there are also several movie versions, including an A&E Six-hour version starring Collin Firth. X3 Which, I might add, I own. And watch more than is healthy.

**tropicaltoadfly: **Thanks for the review:3

**Wavy Blue: **Thanks, hon! Disney songs are magical in that they have one for nearly every situation...XD

**Nicole411: **Thanks for reviewing:)

**Mizu-Magaru-Sensei: **Thanks for the review! 3


	12. Serendipity

Disclaimer: You're a cobbler whore! (Get off of pie!) O-i

**A note from the hungry authoress:**

Hullo, lovelies! Another chapter for you. It's getting quite romantic, neh? And this chapter only moves it up a notch! Oh-ho-ho, yes! 8D Yay for the Yule Ball setting everyone's hearts ablaze. And on with it, I say! Please read and review!

Uh. I'm kind of dropping the Harry liking Kate thing for a while. I'm getting sick of writing sloppy envy for now. X3 But there will just be a little thing in the end of this. And dear God, Kate will never in this story have feelings for Harry. 8D Because I'm a romance Nazi. Ph33r.

**This chapter is dedicated to John. :3 Rock on. I will keep your rally monkey until you give me back my Xena action figure. Please return it to its rightful spot on my drawing desk. Thank you. XD**

----------------------

Someone Like You

Chapter Twelve - Serendipity

"The heart tells us things the mind doesn't know." -Unknown

----------------------

The Yule Ball was drawing nearer and nearer and Cedric still hadn't asked Kate to the ball. He didn't know why he was so anxious about it. He wasn't hesitant; he knew he wanted to go with her. He was just nervous of how she would respond.

Kate, meanwhile, was out of her head. She could figure herself out. She liked Cedric _as a friend. _But she realized after that night she had left him at the stairs after asking him about the Ball, she was attracted to him. She felt so terribly cliche, and she felt like she was thinking about her so-called impossible situation all the time. She hated it, feeling so petty and pitiful. It was just human nature, she tried to convince herself, but it was more. It had to be more when every other thought she thought had to do with him.

And she was definitely starting to scare herself, finding herself wishing the candidate Cedric had mentioned was her. She spent her time day dreaming, almost frustratedly, about Cedric. She felt so strange. She didn't hate herself for it, strangely. She just wished it would stop.

Kate was, once again, wondering if Cedric would ask her to the Ball as she sat in the Gryffindor common room after dinner on a couch in front the armchair, gazing calmly into the flames in the fireplace. They were dancing melodiously, almost rhythmically, along the logs. Pictures were dancing in Kate's mind, of a fairytale she wanted to see herself in.

Behind her she heard Harry, Ron, Fred, and George talking quietly. She heard them mentioning the Ball, and asking girls to it. Apparently, none of them had asked.

And before Kate's mind could catch up with her, she heard George say, "Oi, Kate?"

Kate turned around slowly, feeling oblivious.

"Yeah?" She said lowly and quietly.

"Wanna go to the ball with me?" George asked in a friendly way.

A million things went racing through Kate's head. She felt almost woozy. What did she do? She had been expecting Cedric to ask her to go. But he hadn't yet. Was he still planning to? She knew she should say yes to George. He had asked her first. And there was no way she could know if Cedric was going to ask her. But was if he was? He wanted to go with him so badly...she felt sure she would have a good time with George, but there was something in the back of her mind the told her that she wanted to really go with Cedric...

"Yes." Kate choked out after a moment of flooded thinking. The word fell over her lips with difficulty. She had to say it. She couldn't say no. She didn't have to say yes, but she couldn't say no. She smiled friendly at George.

"Well great." He said, turning back to his brothers and Harry. She heard him saying in a lower voice, "Now that's how you do it."

----------------------

_Dear mum,_

_Things are just fine here. Guess what! I got asked to the Yule Ball by George Weasley. I've told you about him. He's a very nice bloke. Very funny. I'm excited to go. By the way, how is Alex? I haven't received any letters from him at all this year. I know I'm just over-anxious, but is he okay? I'm a tad worried. Please tell him to write me!_

Kate stopped writing, and moved on to a letter to her friend. While rather masking her true feelings while writing to her mother, she wrote more of the truth to her friends. It is strange how that happens. We sometimes feel more free to open up to those who probably have hurt us somehow before, rather than the ones who raised us.

_Dear Bridget,_

_Oh, Bree. I am so confused. I don't know how to think. I don't know how to speak. I don't even know how to feel. So you see, there's this Ball at my school. And this guy, you know, Ced, the one I've mentioned before, well...I really wanted to go with him. And I think he wanted to ask me. But this other bloke, George, asked me first, so I said yes. I feel so strange. Do you have any advice? It is wanted here. Where is someone witty and helpful like you when I need you?_

_----------------------_

The next Hogsmeade visit had arrived, and Kate was doing her Christmas shopping with Angelina. She had gotten her close friends and family covered. They only one she was still puzzled about was Cedric.

"C'mon, Kate. You know him pretty well. There's got to be something you can give him that is special." Angelina tried to reason.

"It's really got to mean something, though..." Kate said stressfully. She searched her mind diligently, sorting through her memories with him. She remembered all the times she had spent with him, trying to recall what he had said, or what he would like.

An idea then popped into her head. She smiled. "I've got the perfect idea." Kate smiled brightly, dragging Angelina out of Zonko's Joke Shop.

----------------------

Cedric was even more nervous now. It was mid-December, and he still hadn't asked Kate to the Yule Ball. His fear now was that she had already been asked, and that there was nothing he could do to go with her. He had to ask her. He had to ask her tonight.

He saw her in Defense Against the Dark Arts class. His mind was running far ahead of his heart. He tapped his pen nervously on his pad of paper, until one of his mates next to him kicked him in the shin to make him stop.

He couldn't stop himself. There was no state of calm anywhere in his mind. Everything about him was jittery, and his stomach kept doing flip flops.

He had to do it tonight.

After class, he approached Kate slowly and anxiously as they filed out the door. He worked his way through the small crowd of people at the back of the room, until he was near enough to Kate. He lightly touched her elbow and said almost in a hoarse whisper, "Kate."

Her head snapped up to him as soon as she heard his voice and felt his touch. "Hi, Ced," she said with a fluttering smile.

"Could I...talk to you alone for a moment?" he asked slowly and quietly, his heart pounding. He felt sure she could here it.

Kate felt the blood drain from her face as he said those words. She felt she knew instantly what it was about. She didn't want to here it. She didn't want to think it. But it came.

As soon as they were out of the classroom, they took a few steps to the other side of the hall. Kate's heart was racing. She could hardly feel her own skin. He was standing close to her, closer than he needed to. She didn't mind that. It was nice having him close to her.

"Kate...er...would you..." Cedric stuttered. "Will you go to the ball with me?" he asked hastily.

Kate would not look into his eyes. She felt her stomach sinking. "Oh, Ced...I'm so sorry..."

Cedric's skin went cold. He didn't know what to say.

"I've already been asked...I'm so sorry..." Kate said, feeling herself almost trembling.

"No, it's okay. I was just to slow. Oh well, then. I'll catch you later, okay?" Cedric said shakily, eager to get away from the situation.

"Oh, bye..." Kate said, and they hurriedly walked away from each other.

Kate hurried back to the common room, feeling shaky all over.

She wanted to go with him. She wanted to go with him so badly.

His last words lingered in her mind as she climbed the dormitory and sat on her bed, there for many hours, alone with her thoughts.

She wanted to go with him so badly...

"Kate...?" She heard a voice. She lifted up her heavy head, as she lay discombobulated on the bed, her arm cramped underneath her. She had fallen asleep. She lazily opened her eyes, yawning obviously, and looked to her caller.

It was Angelina. She had just entered the common room to get ready for dinner, when she spotted Kate asleep on her bed.

"What's wrong with you?" Angelina asked exhasperatedly, rolling her eyes. She had a guess.

"Cedaskedmetotheballbutialreadysaidyestogeorgeandidunnowhattodo!" Kate cried in a rush. She didn't even think of why she was acting this way.

"Oh, shut up." Angelina sighed long and loudly. "If you were really meant to go with him, he would've asked you first..." she trailed off.

"If that were true," Kate began, slowing down her speech, "why would I feel this way?"

Angelina frowned, scanning her mind. She didn't know how to respond. She couldn't just say, because you have a thing for him, you idiot. She simply didn't let any words out of her mouth that she knew she would probably regret later.

"Look. Go downstairs. Maybe you'll find your saving grace." Angelina alluded.

Kate stopped to take a breath. What had just happened? What was wrong with her? The last few hours had passed by so quickly, so heedlessly, that she didn't know what to think, or what to feel. There was something inside of her, something deep and bold, that a small corner had just been unearthed, and Kate felt unstable because of it.

Kate looked down at her fingernails. Curving, somewhat long, and kempt. She didn't want to think of anything to do with the dance. With Cedric.

A word flickered in the back of her mind. She had heard it before, in old books about romance. It was soft, and just by the tone you knew it was romantic. She couldn't quite remember it. It was on the time of her tongue, but it wouldn't come out. She wanted to say it, wanted to know it, wanted it to explain what was going on...

Without saying a word to Angelina, Kate rose from her bed slowly, he knees feeling weak She walked very slowly down the stairs. She didn't know why she was so apprehensive, but she felt like whatever was going to happen was going to be really good, or really bad...

She saw George sitting in a similar position to where he was earlier, with Fred, Ron, and Harry.

"Kate!" He said merrily as she entered the room, smiling warmly. He stood up quickly, then walked over to her.

"I need to talk to you about the ball. I er, hope I don't come off as a real jerk, but..." George began slowly.

"Go on," Kate said breathlessly.

"Okay, well, Katie Bell, she...er, well, it's traditionally boys ask girls...but, she asked me..to the ball." George explained.

Kate nodded pallidly.

"So I was wondering if it would be too terribly offensive if I...went with her...I mean, word on the street is that Diggory asked you, and I bet you'd rather go with him, so..."

Kate smiled and nodded. "Oh, George, its fine, don't worry! Go with Katie! It's just fine. It's more than fine, it's wonderful–oh, is it dinner time yet?" Kate answered in a flustered voice.

George shook his head, giving her a worried look. "Er, thanks for being so...light about it..." he said apprehensively. "I think you can go to dinner if you want..."

Kate's blood was pumping through her faster than she thought her heart could beat. She rushed out of the common room without a moment's hesitation, a feeling of lassitude overwhelming her unusually. She didn't know how to respond to herself. She didn't know what to think. So she just went with it. Her heart was in control now, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

She felt so sure of it. He would be there. She needed to see him, to speak to him. As soon as possible. And she knew she was going to.

She nearly slipped down the marble staircase, her ankles tripping about and doubling over. She managed to keep herself from completely biffing it. She had already done that a couple of times, and she didn't wish to add another tally to that list.

Especially when she saw who was walking into the great hall.

Somehow, she knew he was going to be there. He had to be. It was the only way.

"Hello, Kate," Cedric said warily across the room, as he saw her come tumbling down the stairs. He smiled to himself. It was painful, however, wishing that someone that clumsy would be dancing with him.

He hadn't gotten over it yet. He really, really, _really _wanted to go with her. But he supposed there was nothing he could do about it know. He knew eventually he would need to ask someone else, and he was running out of time. But he just didn't think he could do it. The only person he wanted to dance with the girl falling down the stairs, a red mark on the side of her face from being mashed into a pillow–Kate.

"Ced...!" Kate couldn't help herself. She tried to compose herself, then walked quickly, almost in a run, over to Cedric. As soon as she reached him, she threw her arms around him and said, "Good day!"

Ced gave her a curious look, losing his breath when her arms surrounded him. It wasn't a bad thing though, he quite liked it. But he didn't know whether to respond by hugging her back, or if he should just stand there.

"What's...up?" He finally said, stuttering, feeling his cheeks burning.

Kate, realizing what she had just done (which was running up to her once-hated enemy and throwing her arms around him), let go of Cedric quickly, and took a few steps back. She was way too close. And behaving too strangely. Some strange was definitely going on. And while her heart liked this feeling, her mind didn't like it at all.

No, you don't, you don't, her mind told her.

Yes, I do, I think I do, her heart told her.

She knew her heart would tell her things her mind didn't know. But this was a very big leap of faith to trust in her heart. She hadn't ever felt like she did just then.

Then she heard herself say, "I'm not going to the ball with George."

Cedric's ears burned as he heard this. He didn't quite comprehend it at first, but as soon as he understood what she had said, he smiled secretly (but it was obvious this time), and said nervously, "So, who are you going with, then?" Hoping for the answer he obviously wanted.

Kate smirked. "Why, you." she answered, timidly drawing a circle with the point of her shoe on the ground.

Cedric couldn't help but smile. This was music to his ears. A wave a relief swept over both of them as they realized, truly, this was what they had wanted all along.

Kate, as she looked happily up into Cedric's grey orbs, flicked through her head again. Finally it came to her.

Serendipity.

She was meant to be here. He was meant to be here. This was meant to happen. It wasn't just chance. It was...destiny.

She laughed to herself as Cedric smirked, "Well, that is good news. So I 'spose it's official this time, right?"

Kate nodded. "Yeah. It's official."

Cedric breathed a sigh of relief, taking in her astonishingly beautiful blue eyes once again before he said, "Well, would you like to eat dinner?"

Kate nodded. This was _exactly_ the way it was supposed to be. Her mind had finally surrendered, and her heart knew what it was doing. She was sure of that.

And as they walked together, both grinning stupidly, knocking elbows as they were close, Serendipity was fully recognized, its purpose fulfilled.

For she was the only one for him. And he was the only one for her.

It wasn't chance. It was destiny. Fate.

And although Kate and Cedric didn't realize fully what was ahead of them, Serendipity opened a very large gate of opportunity, leaving a lot of room to be filled with love.

--------------------------

**Authoress note time!**

Yay, end of chapter. X3 Personally I think I wrote this a little sloppily and repetitive. But oh well. My computer decided to cooperate again! -cheers- So I will be update regularly again. :) Yeah, that's right, I tricked you! I was originally going to have Ced go with Cho, but I was like, "Bah, this is a fluffy romance. Happy stuff is supposed to happen. Harharhar!" So I infringed on the original story and changed that part, even through I will be tomatoed by strict Potterphiles for changing the story. XD I don't care! Please review, my lovelies:3

**Thanks to:**

**luv sean faris: **Thanks! Term papers suck, I know. XD Just don't be like me and procrastinate/forget until 11PM the night before. :3

**Mysticdark1: **Thanks for the review:3 I hope I pleased you.

**i luv Lupin AND Potter: **Assuming you got my message, I cleared everything up. n.n Thanks for reviewing, I'm glad you liked it!

**Nayerz: **Thanks muchly! -eats muffin- I'm glad you liked it so much. :) It's good to be appreciated!

**Wavy Blue: **Thanks muchly!

**ibcandy: **Thanks for the alert!


	13. Bellezza di Cristallo

Disclaimer: I truly do not own this, dear.

**Nearly asleep authoress's note: **

So it's 1:30AM and I can't sleep. So what do I get out of bed and do? I plug in my iPod and listen to The Academy Is... while starting this chapter. I hope it serves you well. My romantic fonts are starting to come out, and I hope it pleases you. Please enjoy reading this as I rock out and sip week-old Snapple because no one went shopping today and we ran out of healthy drinks.

I'm also very much under the influence of _Love Actually_, which I saw for the first time today. And y'know, that's all bubbly love and romance and it rubbed off on me a lot.

And p.s., the chapter title is in Italian, in case you were wondering.

**This chapter is dedicated to Lance. I will never forget the time we played Donkey Konga and you played "Sing Sing with a Swing" and yelled, "IT'S THE CHIPS AHOY SONG!" At the top of your lungs, and also missing several of the first notes of the song. Haha. Rock on.**

----------------------

Someone Like You

Chapter Thirteen - Bellezza di cristallo

"Beauty as we feel it is something indescribable; what it is or what is means can never be said." -George Santayana

----------------------

"Kate! Wake up!" Angelina shouted, shoving her friend in the shoulder as she stood over her bed.

Kate lazily peeled her eyes open, groaning angrily from being awakened from sleep. The bright morning sunlight seeped into Kate's eyes, and they winced shut as she yawned obviously and sat up in bed.

"Whadderya want..." Kate asked droopily in between yawns.

"It's Christmas! C'mon, get up already!" Angelina exclaimed, smiling happily, taking a steep back from Kate's bed.

Kate's eyes finally opened all the way, and she grinned. Sure, she liked Christmas, but this Christmas was special. The Yule Ball was that night, and she had been anticipating it for two weeks since Cedric asked her.

Kate stood up quickly. "Well, lets open presents, then!"

They crept quickly downstairs to the common room, where a few people were awake already, including Fred, George, and Lee Jordan.

"Good morning, ladies," Fred said quirkily, as he opened a package with maroon wrapping paper.

"Oh no, Fred, it's one of Mum's sweaters!" George exclaimed as Fred opened the present.

Kate laughed as she found her own cache of presents. Ones from Mum, Dad, Angelina, Fred, George, Harry, Hermione...and Cedric. Kate couldn't help but smile, wondering what he had gotten him.

Angelina smirked to herself. She had been crafty to sneak in the present Cedric had passed to her in the hall the night before. They were very careful Kate didn't find out.

She opened that one first. Carefully tearing the paper away from the present, an unexpectant grin spread across her face.

It was _Emma_ by Jane Austen. In the front cover was a note that was written in Cedric's refined handwriting.

_Dear Kate,_

_I thought you could try reading something different. I hope you enjoy. Merry Christmas!_

_-Cedric_

There was another book underneath that one. It was a cookbook for various chocolate desserts. There was another note inside of that one.

_By using this, hopefully your next dessert cooking venture will turn out better than the last one._

Kate grinned even wider, and couldn't help but giggle a little. She felt like a little school girl, back in her preschool days, so new to love, thinking that a simple crush was something much more than it really was, and that even when he looked in her direction, she was overwhelmed by feeling and a fluttering in her heart...

Kate snapped back to reality. She continued to open her presents, placing the book aside delicately, keeping its presence close to her. The smile it had brought didn't leave her face for the rest of morning, and beautiful images of a waltzing dream swam blankly through Kate's imagination.

She and Angelina finally finished unwrapping their presents, and they left for a warm and filling Christmas breakfast of hash browns and omelets. Kate saw Cedric across the Great Hall, and they exchange anxious smiles. Usually they waved to each other, but Kate felt her limbs frozen in a state of overwhelming heat as she sat down at her house's table.

She ate very slow that morning. She felt a need to prolong that day as much as she could, so she would have more to think about later, more to remember. She tried to have a conversation with everyone, even people she hardly knew, like Neville Longbottom. They had an enjoyable talk about Remembralls and how grandparents are great.

She spent the rest of the morning and afternoon munching on snacks and chocolate she had received for Christmas. She played Chess and card games with the Weasley twins and Angelina. After teaching them how to play Spoons and a couple rounds of that game, it was nearly 5:30. They decided to break their conference and begin getting ready for the dance.

The moment Kate's mother had received the letter from her daughter that she was going to a Ball, she knew exactly what dress Kate would want. It was one that had been handed down through the years from daughter to daughter, and yet was still as beautiful as when it had been made. It was elegant and seemed to magically fit everyone who wore it, no matter what size they were. It was a nearly pure snow white cut just below the armpits. It blossomed at the waist to an elegant flower of shimmering beauty. Even one slight shift of the dress and it shimmered in any light, displaying a galaxy of stars over the length of the fabric. It made the wearer seem to be a being of unnatural beauty, or in a more lyrical sense, a Crystal Beauty.

Kate couldn't help but brim with excitement as she pulled on the ancient and graceful dress. It seemed a perfect fit. Her mother had worn it on her wedding day, her mother's mother had worn it on her wedding day. Her mother's mother's mother had worn it on her wedding day. This dress was only worn on special occasions, and Kate was determined to make this a special occasion.

Though she felt it didn't need much help to be very, very special.

The next step was hair. Kate spent quite a bit of time pinning her dark, curly hair onto the back of her head in a fancy up-do. She spun it around into an elegant bun, and bobby-pinned it up.

The final step to hair was some glittery jel, that made her hair sparkle in the light.

After applying a small bit of lipstick, eyeshadow and mascara, Kate's final step was jewelry. Along with the dress, Kate's mother had sent a stunning silver necklace laden with an opal, and matching earrings. Finally, there was a pair of Cinderella-esque shimmering shoes the fit Kate perfectly.

Kate was surprised when she checked the time again. It was almost seven. She rushed out of the bathrooms and met Angelina in the common room.

"Kate, you look wonderful!" Angelina greeted merrily as she arrived. Angelina was wearing a satin red dress that flowed smoothly over her slight figure.

"Thank you, you look great yourself!" Kate said back, smiling cheerily as she rushed into the room.

"But c'mon, we're almost late!" Angelina rushed, urging Kate towards the door.

The left quickly. Almost everyone else had cleared out and was preparing for the dance. Kate couldn't be late. Not for this. She and Angelina rushed along.

They reached the top of the marble staircase quickly, much quicker than either of them had anticipated. Kate had managed to make it down all the stairs while only stumbling once, and in heels, too. It was a new record, she labeled.

Angelina was taken away momentarily by Fred Weasley, who had quickly come up the steps at her arrival and escorted his date. Kate scanned the crowd fervently for a moment, then her eyes met Cedric's shocking grey ones.

Kate's knees felt weak as his eyes locked on her. An innate feeling of giddiness overwhelmed her as she grinned nervously as began down the stairs. She could hear her own heartbeat loudly, and wouldn't be surprised if everyone else in the room heard it.

He was almost overwhelmed at the sight of her as she descended eloquently down the stairs. His eyes had never fell on anything more lovely in all his life.

He was speechless as Kate reached him through the crowd. Cedric's mates scattered as Kate reached him, sensing they would want to be left alone.

Kate was smiling widely. She couldn't do anything to restrain it. Cedric's eyes filled with love and admiration as Kate stopped in front of him.

"I...I don't know what to say..." Cedric stuttered, his shock turning to a grin.

Kate chuckled. "Is that a good or a bad thing?"

"It's a marvelous thing..." Cedric answered breathlessly, feeling that if he took his eyes off of her everything he loved would disappear.

Kate felt like her heart was going to leap out of her chest at those words. She felt her cheeks flush red and hoped he didn't notice. She didn't want him to know how she was feeling...

"Champions! Line up here with your partners to enter." Came the loud voice of Professor McGonagall over the heads of the students.

Kate and Cedric exchanged eager smiles as she looped her arm through his.

"Ready?" Cedric smirked expectantly.

Kate nodded, nearly shaking from the nerves. "Yeah, I am."

"Great." Cedric replied, an unremovable smile across his face.

"Oh, by the way, I loved your present." Kate giggled, thinking of the two books.

"Oh, your welcome. I liked yours as well." Cedric smirked. Kate had gotten him a mystery book, because she remembered him saying something to her about how he liked them. In addition, she had thrown in a pair of shoelaces, with a note that said she hoped those ones worked better than the ones he had.

They entered the Great Hall with the other champions. Kate's feet felt lighter than feathers as they walked into the center of the room, and the music began playing.

Her and Cedric faced each other again, their eyes locking in an unbreakable stance. "May I have this dance?" Cedric smirked.

"Oh, sure," Kate teased, giggling. Cedric took her hand delicately in his, and a shocking tingling sensation ran up Kate's arm. She felt very unstable as her giddiness reached a fever pitch and they began dancing.

Neither Kate nor Cedric could've counted the time they spent together. They couldn't count the number of songs that had danced together. They couldn't count the number of times they had numbly made poke-fun remarks to each other. They couldn't count the times their eyes met and refused to look away. They couldn't count the number of times they felt so full of that inexplicable feeling that it threatened to overwhelm them. Nothing real existed then. To Kate, the only other person there was Cedric. And to Cedric, the only other person there was Kate. It didn't matter that they were surrounded by hundreds of their peers, all their teachers, people they had never met before. They shared something beyond themselves, something so personal it seemed farfetched that they weren't alone.

The announcement was made that the last dance was next. Kate's fever pitch hadn't receded any, but she felt more comfortable being close to him. For Cedric, however, it seemed only natural to have her close to him.

The song was slow and melodious, yet full of love and life. Kate's inexplicable feeling overtook her, and as she danced close to Cedric, she dared beyond herself and laid her head nervously on his shoulder.

Cedric grinned as the soothing scent of Kate's hair reached him and wisps of her hair tickled his neck. He somehow wished this would never end.

Kate never knew how long that last song was; she was in her own world. The smile that had never left her lips still lingered their, as she closed her eyes. The feeling of floating overcame her, and she was sure if she opened her eyes again they would be floating on a cloud.

The music stopped playing and all the couples stopped dancing. Kate reluctantly lifted her head from Cedric's shoulder and they embraced each other's eyes again.

Words weren't needed. They both knew what was on the other's mind.

The dance had ended, and the students began filing out of the great hall. Kate and Cedric stayed close, walking out together.

They still didn't speak as they climbed the stairs silently, up towards the Fat Lady's portrait.

Kate and Cedric had barely reached the Fat Lady's portrait. Kate had just barely said "Fairy Lights" when suddenly she felt Cedric's lips touch her cheek gently and briefly.

It took her a moment to realize what had happened. An unexplainable wave of awareness then overcame her, and her eyes darted to Cedric's. They were calm and humble.

"Goodnight," he said simply before turning away.

She hadn't said anything. That was good enough for him.

But Kate's instinct took hold, and she quickly stepped over to him, placing her lips on his cheek quickly. She said, "Goodnight!" jubilantly as she nearly fell into the Gryffindor common room because of nerves.

That was a much better response for Cedric.

And as Kate lay laughing hysterically on the common room floor–and Angelina and the Weasley twins gawked at her and crooned, "What the bloody hell is wrong with her?"–she felt an undeniable connection between her and Cedric. Something that was much more than friendship. She had already known that. But this new thing, this _marvelous _new thing, sent an adrenaline of love through her.

And that told her heart all it needed to know.

--------------------------

**Yet again, an authoress note:**

-dancing around to Rent-

Oh, er, yeah. So, there's the chappie! Darn, it's kinda short again. XD Oh well. :3 I hope you like how that turned out! You may have been hoping for the real first kiss, but I have another, better situation for that. Don't worry, it is soon! I shan't disappoint you! Um, so you know the drill. Please review so I will get the next chapter up sooner:) Thanks for reading, my lovelies!

**Thanks to:**

**luv sean faris: **lol, thanks! Yay for anti-Cho-ism. Heh heh heh!

**Mysticdark1: **Hehe, thanks for reviewing! -eats cookie-

**summerluck2: **-glomp- Holy cows, thanks for all of teh awesome reviews! XD They are greatly appreciated. Thanks again!

**Iris Knotwise: **Hehe, thanks! My trick worked, lol. And a Potterphile t-shirt? That would be awesome! XD You should market it. I'd buy one!

**HelloLonely: **Thanks:3 Yay for anti-Cho-ism again. She does have a crying problem...O-o

**katy-ducky: **Tis indeed an awesome word! XD It just means like...disproportionate, kinda. I'm bad at explaining things.

**Nayerz: **Thanks for the review!

**love-is-never-forgotten**

**Tamzi**

**tofuubeaver**


	14. Somewhere Only We Know

Disclaimer: Tis only a flesh wound!

**Most Splendiferous Notice From the Esteemed Authoress:**

Uh, is authoress a word?

Anyway, here's the next chapter. Sorry for the little hiatus, I have been very busy the past week with work and school, and there was writers block caused from a severe (and stupid) fight I had with my boyfriend. ;x; But I'm back, don't worry. Much love! Please review!

----------------------

Someone Like You

Chapter Fourteen - Somewhere Only We Know

"_You can tell everybody_

_this is your song." -_Elton John

----------------------

The following days seemed to pass by on a swift breath. It seemed like each week was beginning sooner than the last. The end of December slipped through with devilish cunning, causing the students' attitudes to return murky due to the fact they would soon have to return to classes. January began shortly, and the first classes of the year began.

The students' only saving grace was the prospect of a Hogsmeade visit in the middle of the month. Everyone was looking forward to it with eagerness. Even Kate, who had recently been victim to what Angelina called "more buddy-buddy-ish than you think". Referring, of course, to Kate's building relationship with Cedric.

It was obvious that the changes in Kate's heart were incontrovertible. It stood where it stood, and Kate didn't mind being there. Sure, on occasion she reminded herself how cliche it was to even consider Cedric as potentially more than a friend, but she played it off with frivolity.

They were spending more and more time together since the Yule Ball. They made a habit of studying together at least every other day a week, sometimes more. And Angelina wasn't the only one who noticed Kate and Cedric's new schedule. Many younger students were noting how "that Spanish girl" and "Cedric, the real Hogwarts Champion" were becoming closer and closer everyday.

Of course, Kate seemed oblivious. Anytime anyone questioned her about her relationship, she gave them a callow look and said, "Er...what?"or, "No, of course not!" or, in the case of the Weasley twins, "Dear God, get your minds out of the gutter!"

She could not deny, however, how every morning she looked forward to seeing him and had the best times when she was with him.

Cedric was less dense on this matter. He knew that things were changing every day, that things were getting deeper. And he knew every new thing they did together, whether it was studying, taking a walk, or merely waving in the hall, brought them closer to being...closer.

And that closeness was something he did not dislike in the least bit. He too, was always looking forward to seeing Kate, and found that she was the first thing he thought of in the morning and the last thing he thought about before he fell asleep.

Cedric had decided he was going to ask Kate to go to Hogsmeade with him. He wanted nothing less than that.

After Defense Against the Dark Arts on the Friday before the visit, Cedric sifted through the throngs of students to Kate, who was chatting with Fred Weasley. Cedric pulled one of his little habits he had developed with her, touching her elbow slightly to get her attention.

Kate smiled, knowing it was him, as they migrated out the class room door to the hallway. She said so-long to Fred, then turned to Cedric, and they stopped walking to the side of the hall.

"Good afternoon, golden boy," Kate said with a smile.

"Good afternoon, Kate. How are you?" Cedric asked with a smirk.

"I'm just peachy. And you?"

"I'm fine. Listen, I was wondering if you would be at all interested in going to Hogsmeade with me tomorrow," Cedric requested, unable to conceal a grin.

"Sure, that would be great!" Kate agreed excitedly. She thought his idea was a completely excellent suggestion.

"Well, alright, then. I meet you tomorrow in the courtyard, okay?" Cedric said, setting the time and location.

"Okay. It's a date." Kate said with a stupid grin.

Cedric noticed this time she didn't recant calling their outing a date. As he watched her walking (or more, glide) away after a short good bye, being unable to conceal a smile of admiration, he found himself quite glad that she hadn't taken back what she said.

----------------------

Of course, mother nature decided to conspire against our young lovers. As Kate woke up the next morning, seeing lugubrious and gloomy clouds filling the sky through the nearby window, she grumbled angrily, untangling herself from the sheets.

After breakfast, students began filtering outside to leave to Hogsmeade. Everyone was wearing a heavy coat, many also with hats, gloves, and scarves. Every person had an umbrella handy, betting it would start to rain anytime.

Teaming up in the entrance hall, Kate and Cedric walked outside to the courtyard, taking a brisk pace as the rest of the students were, trying to get out of the cold.

"So, I realized something," Kate smirked, as they walked along, huddled close together. Their hands were thrust into their coat pockets.

"Oh, yeah? And what is that?" Cedric asked in a comical manner.

"I realized, I don't know your specifics." Kate told him frankly.

"My...what?" Cedric questioned, not understanding what she meant.

"You know, you favorites of things. I mean, I remember you like seafood, and mystery novels, but I don't know a whole lot more." Kate said, nodding as she talked.

"Actually, I feel the same way. About you, I mean." Cedric agreed. "So, lets have a get-to-know-you-better meeting."

"That's exactly what I was thinking." Kate sniggered. Hogsmeade was not far away now. She could see its hovering sky line just a little ways off.

"I suggest The Three Broomsticks. Seems like a good place to have a meeting." Cedric suggested.

"Good idea." Kate agreed again.

----------------------

After their frigid hike from Hogwarts, Kate and Cedric hand finally settled in at a cozy table in The Three Broomsticks. After order butter beers and de-donning their winter wear, Kate laced her fingers together and placed them on the table. Leaning forward, she asked, "Okay. I hope you're ready for this." she teased.

"Kate, don't make me feel like a murder suspect in Interrogation," Cedric joked.

Kate sniggered as she went on. "Don't worry, it won't be that bad." she paused, noticing how the other students in the pub were giving them peculiar looks. Some of the younger girls were glaring at her contemptuously. Kate laughed to herself, then said, "So this is how it works. One of us says something, like, 'Pushed someone over a cliff'. If you or I have, you take a drink. Makes sense?" Kate questioned.

Cedric nodded. "Yes, I understand." He then smirked, saying, "You haven't really pushed anyone off a cliff, have you?"

She punched him in the shoulder playfully. "Oh no, you found out my secret!" She remarked sarcastically. "Okay, I'll start." She paused, thinking of something to say. "Broke the 'no magic outside of school' law."

Kate took a sip. Cedric's cup remained on the table.

"Really? What did you do?" Cedric asked peculiarly.

"Oh, I just used a healing spell on my poor cousin who fell into the street and cut his knee open in front of some muggles. It wasn't that big of a deal." Kate explained.

"Alright." Cedric nodded, understanding. "Ever said hello to someone you thought was saying hello to you? But in reality, they weren't?"

They both picked up their glasses and drank.

"So many, many times..." Kate sniggered, trailing off as Cedric laughed.

It went on like this for quite a long time, though it drifted by quickly. Soon the questions became more intimate, and they became more comfortable.

It was Kate's turn to ask, and she had been itching to do this one for a while. She had just worked up the courage, as she placed her hands apart on the table, leaning forward, and said, "Kissed someone, on a romantic basis."

Kate's draw dropped as Cedric _didn't _pick up his glass. She didn't either.

"You haven't? You, the Casanova of Hogwarts?" Kate asked, astonished.

Cedric nodded, laughing. "I can't believe you just said I am a Casanova."

"Well, I'm glad to hear you aren't." Kate said, looking down at her hands. Cedric's were on the table as well.

"D'you ever wonder...what it would be like if I'd never hated you?" Kate asked depthly, this question coming from somewhere inside of her. "I mean, always liked you since the day we met?"

Cedric smiled, looking down at their hands as well. He searched carefully for what to say, wanting to place out the exact words he wanted. His heart was beating frantically, planning a stratagem, as he said, quaintly, "I don't think that I would feel the way about you that I do now."

Kate felt a cold sweat rush over her, as she looked earnestly into Cedric's grey eyes. Such an inexplicable feeling ran through her. She felt that that mysterious connection had been made again, and they knew exactly how the other was feeling. Their emotions were aligned, and it was obvious, with out words, where they were going to go from there.

Then as Cedric smiled at her, their eye lock not breaking, he twined his fingers with hers. Kate noticed right away just how perfectly their fingers fit together. But that was nothing to the rush of felicity that came over her, infiltrating the farthest depths of her heart. A corner of her emotions were turned, and she realized that what had been going on for the past few weeks came full circle. The touch of his fingers in her told her things she never expected to hear through her heart. It told her the truth of what she was feeling, and how he was, too.

Once again, like the night of the dance, words weren't needed to communicate. Their hearts were speaking to each other then.

They left The Three Broomsticks slowly, their hands still intertwined together. Cedric led her, a joyful grin on his face. They left Hogsmeade, heading back towards the castle. He veered off to the left, and began leading her toward the lake. In a matter of moments, they arrived there, like they were riding a cloud.

"Look." He said simply, pointing out to the center of the lake. The placid blue reflected against their skin as the grey clouds over head threatened with thunder.

"On clear mornings, right when the sun is rising through the trees, and the light reflects against the surface of the water..." Cedric said softly. "And you can't hear anything, and it only seems like the only person in the world is you, and the person next to you..."

He faced her, taking her other hand in his. "That's how I feel about you. I don't need the sun, or the reflection."

Kate smiled, her heart set free. Her cheeks burned red "I..." She didn't know what to say. "I'm glad to hear that." Which she thought sounded intensely lame, but it was apparently very satisfying to Cedric.

This is so weird, this is so weird, Kate kept telling herself. Now what, you have feelings for him? Isn't this exactly where you didn't want to end up? How could you let this happen to you, to swoon over him like every other girl?

But then again, why had it been so easy?

She looked up into the sky, unable not to laugh as the rain came tumbling down onto them in a rapid torrent, soaking their clothes. Cedric smiled as the rain woke up his senses. He laughed as well, feeling quite ridiculous.

Of course, that's what love does to you.

They began to run back towards the castle, in an effort to survive being drowned. Kate's fingers never came untangled from Cedric's. This rain, the cold, relentless force, seemed to be a sign, a wake-up call. Kate still didn't quite understand what was going on. She liked him, and she couldn't deny it. And he felt the same way. But it also told her that this was more than just a crush, more than just silly teenage puppy love. That question hadn't been answered yet, but she felt that they would discover it together sometime, whether it was tomorrow, next week, or next year.

Kate knew she had begun to fall for him. Cedric, however, had begun falling for her a long time ago, and to him, this only brought good news.

Kate couldn't get to sleep that night. Her mind was abuzz with the many things that had happened that day. Rumors had spread, of course, but she didn't care. Younger girls were glaring at her, but she didn't care. Fred and George chastised her for fraternizing with the enemy, but she didn't care. She hated being this sort of slave to her emotions, but it was so nice at the same time. She was enjoying every minute of it. She noticed then, how usually she was scared to open up to new love. She cowered from it, hiding from it's influence. But this time it was different. While new love usually caged her in, this did something different. The last things she thought before drifting off into a fantastic dream world, were simple words that were full of meaning...

_All your life, you've waited for him to set you free._

----------------------

**Thanks to:**

**awakeanddreaming**

**Dean's Leather Jacket**

**Flying Tiger**

**Mysticdark1: **:) Thanks for the review! Good luck with your fic!

**Summerluck2: **Thanks, I'm glad you liked it! Hold in to your camera:3

**silenceintheforest: **Thanks, I'm glad you like the story!

**Authoress's note junk:**

Hmm...I don't know how to feel about this chapter. I like it, but I don't...hmm. Oh, and BTW when I use the word 'love' now, I mean it in a more brotherly-love way, not like 'in-love.' We're not there yet. Well, hopefully you liked it. :) Sorry it's kind of short...

_Please please please_ review. I need your feed back to get me out of my writers block:3


	15. You're Beautiful

Disclaimer: Not mine. :)

**Authoress note!**

Yes, it's me again! Thanks to all the great feedback from last chapter. I hope you all like this one. :) Yay for love! Thanks for reading! Have a good week! Woo, chapter fifteen? O-O We're half-way done!

Happy Valentine's Day!...Late. :3

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Someone Like You

Chapter Fifteen - You're Beautiful

"_But to see her was to love her;_

_love but her, and love for ever._" -Robert Burns

----------------------

"Blue or red?" Kate asked intently as she stood before her wardrobe in the Gryffindor girls dormitory.

Angelina, who was sitting nonchalantly on her bed, her textbook sprawled across her lap in an effort to make it look like she was doing something. "Er...what?"

"Blue or red? Earrings, I mean." Kate specified.

"I don't care!" Angelina said stressfully, casting Kate a distressed look. Angelina had noticed how much more energetic Kate was since she had been spending more time with Cedric. She believed there was a concurrence.

"Oh, fine, blue." Kate sighed in a slightly irritated way. "Say, did we have Divinations homework?"

Angelina shook her head as she leafed through the pages in her book. "No...you sure seem to be a bit more flaky lately than you used to be."

Kate had inserted her blue shiny earrings and was proceeding to cross the room to Angelina's bedside. Her foot caught on the corner of her trunk, and she stumbled forward, barely catching herself.

"And more clumsy." Angelina added, shutting her book with a quick snap.

Kate straightened herself up, pretending to be oblivious. "I...er, must just be distracted."

Angelina smirked as she swung her legs over the side of her bed and stood up. She coughed something that sounded like "golden boy" as they left the room together, going to breakfast.

"Good morning, ladies!" Fred and George chimed in unison, joining them on their way out the door.

"Happy Friday!" Angelina sighed. It had been a long week, with loads of homework including a Potions essay they had all royally failed.

The continued jabbering about how relieved they were it was finally the weekend until they reached the entrance hall, crossing over to the Great hall. Then Kate heard, to her delight, "Good morning, Kate!"

Kate glanced behind her, to see Cedric a few yards behind them. He was smiling happily, glad to see her. Kate smiled back, their eyes meeting graciously.

"I'll catch up with you guys later." Kate said quietly as she left the group, gliding over to Cedric.

"It's good to see you," Cedric said sweetly as Kate reached him.

"It's almost ten o'clock! Seems a little bit late for you to be getting out of bed." Kate teased, folding her arms over her chest.

"Well, I had to make sure to run into you." Cedric smirked.

"And sleeping in was the best way to do it?" Kate retorted, then remarked sarcastically, "I like your way of thinking. You've got to tell me some of your secrets."

"I'll hold a class sometime." Cedric sniggered, placing on hand on Kate's arm.

"So, why _did _you need to run into me?" Kate asked inquisitively.

"Well, I needed to see you. Isn't that enough?" Cedric smirked. "Also, I was wondering if you would meet me at lunch under the big oak tree again."

Kate felt herself flush as nice shade of red. "Sure thing, I'll be there." she answered."Well? Are you hungry?"

"Oh, I'm starving. Let's go." They entered the Great Hall together, Cedric's hand placed lightly on Kate's shoulder, as if he were guiding her along.

--------------------------

"Kate!" Angelina hissed as they bent over parchment in Potions class. They were outlining a paper they were going to write on Tuesday in class. The topic wasn't thoroughly exciting(cases of werewolf attacks), but it was simple work.

"What?" Kate responded in a similarly annoyed voice, glancing up from her paper spread in front of her.

"You're doing it again." Angelina accused.

"Doing what?" Kate asked again.

"Humming!" Angelina replied, lowering her eyes.

"Really? I was?" Kate said, confused, as she put the tips of her fingers to her bottom lip. "I...didn't even notice."

"That was your excuse last time!" Angelina sighed loudly, dropping her pen onto her paper for emphasis.

Kate looked down at the few lines she had scribbled onto her parchment. "I'm sorry. I'll try not to do it again."

"Yeah, yeah..." Angelina trailed off, sighing. She picked up her pen and continued her writing.

Kate couldn't seem to get back on task and think about her paper. She kept wondering what was provoking her strange behavior. How could she have been humming and not even noticed that she was? It couldn't have something to do with Cedric, could it? He wasn't that distracting...was he?

And thanks to Kate's befuddlement she was unable to finish her paper outline, leaving her with a nice addition to her already heavy homework load.

----------------------

"If I could have one wish, it would be that homework would never exist. Or, at least, it wasn't boring." Kate sighed as she slumped down next to Cedric, who was already outside. For it being the end of January, the weather was surprisingly nice and warm. The bright sunshine only added to the warmth. It was remarkable, especially since it had only been a few weeks previous that it had been that frigid Hogsmeade visit.

Kate put her bag on her lap, strangling the strap.

"There could never be a world so good to us." Cedric smirked, glad Kate had arrived.

Kate chuckled, leaning back, feeling the rough bark against her spine. She breathed in the deep, clear air around her, and closed her eyes, taking in the moment. It was so peaceful. Why couldn't it always be like that?

"So what's the damage today?" Cedric asked, referring to Kate's homework load.

Kate sighed her answer. "I'm in critical condition," she told him as she pulled her Potions paper out of her bag.

"I'll help all I can," Cedric replied sportively. Kate smiled back at him, her blue eyes meeting his grey ones.

"Thanks. Really, I appreciate it. I mean, really, you are too nice to me." Kate laughed, blushing.

"I'll try harder to be mean." Cedric joked.

"You'd better. I want to hear you insult me." Kate tempted, laughing.

"Well, okay." Cedric looked her up and down, then said, "I don't like your...shoes."

Kate sniggered. "Oh come on, is that the best you can do?"

"Well, I guess I like everything about you!" Cedric retorted, pushing Kate's shoulder playfully.

Kate blushed as the last of her giggles left her. "Well, ditto."

Cedric gave her a perplexed look. "You like everything about yourself?"

Kate clapped her hands together enthusiastically as she began laughing again. "There you go! A decent insult!"

Cedric began laughing as well. Anyone watching from a distance would have seen two students, both overwhelmed by homework, doubled over laughing like lunatics. Surely only Cedric and Kate felt what happened in that moment. There was such a bond of friendship, it was amazing they had only known each other for five months. You'd think they'd been friends their whole life. But then there was still that additional mystery factor. The thing that Kate and Cedric were addicted to, and only seemed to feel when they were around each other. They both wanted to know what it was. But they just couldn't figure it out yet.

Kate straightened herself, saying, "Okay, okay, better try to get something done."

Together, bent over Kate's single page of paper, they wrote a brilliant outline, their minds working as one. Kate's senses tingled when she felt Cedric's fingers brush hers–and he definitely was not doing that on accident–and she wished that lunch hour would have lasted forever. She felt absolutely dismal when she looked at her watch, which read 1:12, meaning she needed to be in class in eight minutes.

"Guess its time we, ahem, reconvened, eh?" Cedric shrugged, as he began shoving books and papers into his bag.

Kate sighed, sad to slip out of peace into reality. "Yeah, back to class."

Cedric stood up, and outstretched his hand to Kate. She took it, as he pulled her up. Once she was up, his hand didn't let hers go. He certainly didn't want to, and she didn't want him to either.

"So, I'll see you in Herbology." Kate said sweetly. She was sure she was blushing again. Why did she keep doing that!

"Right then." Cedric leaned forward and planted his lips against Kate's cheek for a brief moment, then pulled back away. "Bye."

"Bye," Kate managed, her heart set ablaze. She felt a tingling sensation from her head to the tips of her toes. She felt like she would collapse into the grass as she watched him walk away, a familiarly happy smile planted on his lips.

She then rushed–or rather, skipped–to Divination, put in a very, very good mood.

----------------------

Kate had arrived very early to Herbology. She was one of the first people there, while the fourth years were still clearing out. She even was able to say hello to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. She took a seat on a bench near the back of the room, and placed her bag next to her, saving a spot for Cedric. The few other people there sat all scattered; no two people were together. Kate smiled to herself, thankful for this slight tranquil moment. She only wished she could have Cedric to share it with.

She glanced out the dirty old windows of the greenhouse. It was still shiny and bright outside, the sun still far away from the horizon. She loved this warm weather. It was so unusual. It had been only yesterday the temperature was below thirty. That day it was around 65. It seemed the makings for the perfect day weather-wise. As for the events that had taken place, it really hadn't been too bad. In fact, everything had been quite wonderful today, except for the Potions paper. She had noticed how all of this was good because of Cedric.

She smiled fondly as she thought of him, and the peck on the cheek he had given her when they said goodbye at lunch. What did it mean? Was she reading into it too much? Could it be possible to read into it too much?

Kate also noticed then how many questions she had because of Cedric as well.

Soon students began filtering in. Cedric was not one of them. Fred and George sat down on one side of Kate.

"Where is your main man today, Kate?" Fred asked, smirking as he pulled on the gardening gloves that were lying on the table.

She shrugged. "I don't know. He said he be here at lunch." she felt perplexed, and frankly, worried.

"Probably just signing autographs. I wouldn't worry." George sympathized sarcastically.

"Oh, right." Kate laughed. All the students who were coming had seemed to have arrived.

Professor Sprout stood as tall as she could at the front of the greenhouse, clearing her throat, indicating the students she be quiet.

"Right then, time to get things going. Today's lesson, I warn you, is very long, and will be very hard work."

There were simultaneous groans throughout the room.

"Enough of your whining. Now, please pull on your gloves..."

----------------------

Kate checked her watch in between her work(which was mixing potions very precisely into temperamental plants that implode). Class was almost over, then it would be dinner time. Where was Cedric? It wasn't like him to miss class for anything.

A few moments later, she heard his familiar voice from the front of the room. He was conversing with Professor Sprout.

Kate felt herself lights up at the sight of him. She couldn't help but smile.

"Kate, your boyfriend is here," Fred snickered.

She shot him a dangerous look. "You have ten seconds to take that back."

Fred kept on laughing. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry."

Cedric hurried over and sat down next to Kate. "Hey, I'm sorry I'm late."

"What happened?" Kate asked in a concerned and somewhat motherly voice.

"There was a sudden meeting for the Triwizard champions. I had to go." Cedric explained.

Oh yeah, Kate thought. I almost forgot about that whole school champion thing.

"Students!" Professor Sprout said loudly. "It is time to start cleaning up. Please put your plants on that table over there," she gestured with a finger, "And wash your hands. Then you may leave."

"Kate, can I ask you a big favor?" Cedric implored.

Kate nodded before she could stop herself. Cedric was surprised at her acquiescence.

"Can you help me with this assignment? To keep up in this class I need to do this tonight. You wouldn't mind staying with me until I'm done, would you?" He asked earnestly.

Kate momentarily glanced outside at the fading sky. She then smiled fondly, turning back to Cedric. "Sure. No problem."

"Thank you! You're a life saver." Cedric thanked thoroughly.

Kate smiled sweetly. "Really, after all you've helped me with, I'm only repaying the debt." She reassured him.

Cedric slung his arm around her shoulder as the students filtered out of the greenhouses. "Just...thanks."

Professor Sprout was the last one leaving. "I trust you can lock the door when you leave, right? Just remember to clean up when you are through." And she was gone.

--------------------------

"I hope you're ready for this. I'm not so sure I'm the best teacher, but I'll do what I can." Kate said as she examined the potions in front of her.

"I'm sure you'll do great." Cedric reassured. He took the first vial in hand. "Just tell me what to do."

Kate walked him through the entire days lesson in a time much shorter than Professor Sprout had. She must have just used much more time yelling at loud students.

In little less than an hour, Kate had finished walking Cedric through the lesson. The sky outside had grown into a midnight dash of blue, the stars dancing in the air. It was not much colder than it was a few hours earlier; the temperature was pretty stable.

They cleaned up and left the green house. Kate's fingers slid into Cedric's as he said, "Thank you so, so much. I really appreciate it."

"It's no problem, really. You don't have to be so nice." Kate said in a somewhat teasing way. They had begun the trek back to the castle.

"But I want to be nice. I want to be the nicest to you." Cedric smirked, looking into Kate's eyes.

Well then." Kate replied sportively. She stopped walking and faced him. "I truly think you're the nicest guy I've ever met."

Cedric smiled at her sweetly. He couldn't think of what to say.

"You are simply the most confusing girl I've ever met." Cedric finally said, teasingly.

"Oh, insult!" Kate snapped as she laughed. "Let's make a bet. Whoever can run to the lake's shore faster gets dinner from the other the next Hogsmeade visit."

"Fine it's a deal." Cedric agreed. They shook on it mockingly.

"Okay. Ready, set..." Kate began as she laughed. She was running on pure adrenaline and that one feeling that Cedric brought to her.

"I can't believe we are doing this..." Cedric trailed off. He then turned and pointed to something behind Kate's head. "What on earth is that!" he exclaimed.

"What? Where?" Kate asked as she turned to look. Cedric took off running.

"Hey! You cheater!" Kate yelled after him in between laughs as she began running as well. Something magical was happening. She normally would have thought they were down right behaving like children. But nothing was normal anymore. Everything was special with Cedric. That was just the way it was.

"You fell for the oldest trick in the book!" Cedric yelled over his shoulder, laughing as well.

Kate ran as fast as she could. She had to catch up to him. She just had to. For how much she liked Cedric, competition was still a part of her.

They were nearing the lake shore. Cedric was sure he was going to get there first–though he had resolved he would pay for dinner anyway because that was the gentlemanly thing to do.

Then suddenly, Kate caught his elbow, and she grabbed on, dragging on him with all her might. Together, they crashed into the sand. Kate landed first, on her back, then Cedric landed next to her.

Kate was laughing, coughing, and spitting out sand all at the same time. "I've got sand in my shoes!" She laughed insanely.

"You're lucky if that's the only place you've got sand." Cedric laughed. He rolled over onto his stomach, propping up his torso with his elbow. He leaned over Kate.

Kate's fingers found his again. She smiled at him, and he smiled back, as the last of their laughs faded away. Their eyes were locked together.

"You have stubble." Kate said breathlessly as she gazed into his face. "Just a little."

"That was romantic." Cedric smirked.

Kate made a pretend pouting face. "Then you do better."

Cedric took a few moments to think of the best thing to say. What actually came out was not exactly what he had in mind. He was sure, after he said it, he could have thought of something more lyrical and appealing.

"You're beautiful." he told her.

But it was all Kate wanted to hear.

His eyes danced in front of her. They were so pretty...grey, like the moon on a dusky night. There seemed to be more in them in that moment than she had ever seen before. There was something so deep and so meaningful in the way he was looking at her. Something so magical. Something so important to her heart. She dare not look away, or she felt she would lose that feeling.

She loved the way he made her feel. He made her feel so much better than she thought she was. And she finally decided, that maybe being attracted to him, maybe even having feelings for him, was not a bad thing at all. It was, in fact, a wonderful thing. A wonderful thing she wanted to explore deeper and deeper. She wanted him to dive into her mind, and stay there. She wanted him to waste all his time with her.

Kate no longer questioned what was going on. She knew the answers. And she knew that any questions that came up later would be answered by her heart in time.

Love takes its own course in time. You can't rush it, you can't slow it down. You just have to go with it. Kate knew that.

And then she felt, slowly but surely, Cedric's torso closer to hers. She continually gazed into his eyes. Her hand found the side of his face, her fingers caressing his cheek.

They hung onto everything in that moment. They wanted to. They needed to. They had to.

And then in a moment that contained an eternity, Cedric's lips pressed against Kate's, and her eyes fluttered shut. Her heart leaped out of her chest, going frantic through her body. She had never felt anything like that before. She had never felt something so wonderful.

She showed her acquiescence to the kiss by pushing back with her own lips. They seemed to fit with his perfectly, like they had been made for each other. Kate smiled into their kiss as she thought this.

This was her first kiss. It was the most amazing thing she had ever felt.

Two words had come to Cedric's mind while he was kissing her. Two words that were so simple, while containing an eternity of purpose to his heart. They were simple dream girl. Dream Girl. She was his dream girl. He wanted nothing more than her. To him, there was nothing more that a girl could be.

His lips stayed on hers for a few minutes more, then he pulled away. His grey eyes flashed into her blue ones. They were questioning, like he wasn't sure if she liked it or not.

She reassured him by pushing her lips against him. He happily received them.

Soon she broke away, and Cedric sat up. He stared dreamily up into the sky, his mind buzzing with what had just happened. He didn't know what to say.

Kate sat up as well. She smiled at him, feeling shy. "You wanna go?" she finally said.

"Yeah." Cedric answered shortly. Turning and smiling at her. He outstretched his hand to her. She took it, and he pulled her up. Her hand staying in his, they walked back to the castle. It was the longest, and the best, walk either of them had ever taken.

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**authoress note:**

Holy pockets, Batman! Long chapter! This makes up for the last ones. I hope you liked it. You've been waiting fourteen chapters and over two months for this chapter. I hope you enjoyed!

Please give feedback. I need good feedback for this chapter to keep me writing:3

**Thanks to:**

**mysticdark1**

**summerluck2**

**Iris Knotwise**

**Nayerz**


	16. The Sweetest Thing

Disclaimer: Can't touch this!

**Thee Authoress presents...**

Well, readers! Sorry for that impossibly long hiatus. Here I am, back with another chappie for your entertainment! O-o Uh, I'm sorry this chapter is mostly just filler. -smackslapswear- Please forgive me and my inscrutable writers block. I hope to get back on track soon. I hope you all have a splendiferous week and make the Schwartz be with you!

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Someone Like You

Chapter Sixteen - The Sweetest Thing

"_I fell for you like a child,_

_oh, but the fire went wild._" - Johnny Cash

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Kate crept silently through the Gryffindor Common room and into the girls dormitory. No one made an immediate acknowledgment to her as she glided across the room to her bed. Slowly, one by one, seeing how she shined with happiness, the girls fell silent, and all of their eyes turned to her. What was _she _so happy about?

Kate was still shaking from the events of the evening. She was still buzzing, and her nerves would not calm down. She knew she would have trouble sleeping that night. Her first kiss, her very first kiss in her life from someone that wasn't in her family...you only get one. She hoped it was with the right person. She wondered, in ten years, would she still remember it? Would she remember the way she had felt, the way his body pressed against her, or the way the sand touched her skin? Would she remember the way his lips felt on hers? Would it, in ten years, even matter to her anymore?

She certainly felt that it would.

She jumped onto her bed, and inescapable laugh emitting from her lips. She drew her knees up to her chest as she rocked back, her hair cast about her pillow in a soft manner. She let out a long, pent up breath as her friends surrounded her.

By the time she opened her eyes again, she was surrounded by a dozen of her peers. She sat up, a look of disgust coming over her face. "What?"

"Why were you...smiling like that?" Angelina asked, giving her a skeptical look. "Where were you? You didn't even come to dinner. Fred and George said you were with Cedric."

Kate was unresponsive at first. "Uh, yeah, so what?"

Angelina gawked at her. "What did you just happen to be doing?"

"Who says we were doing something?" Kate asked innocently, biting her bottom lip.

"So, what, you were just sitting there with your minds empty?" Angelina asked.

Kate looked down at her shoes. "Well, no, I guess not."

People slowly started to return to their own beds, figuring there was nothing to hear or see. Angelina sat down on Kate's bed next to her, and gave her an earnest look. Hermione and Ginny Weasley stayed by as well. Katie Bell and Alicia Spinnet sat on the next bed, as if in conversation, but they were listening intently if there was something they would want to hear.

"Kate, I know that look. Something happened to you. Not something usual. Something exciting, maybe even extraordinary. So I am not getting off this bed until you tell me what it is." Angelina said in a sly voice.

A pained look crossed her face. "Well, yeah, I guess he does that to me." She said in a rushed voice. She then pulled up her pillow and buried her face inside of it.

"He...what!" Angelina spat, giving her an astounded word. "Please tell me you did not use the L word in his presence!"

"Oh, God, no! I mean, I don't feel that way about him yet. I mean, I guess I love him in a brotherly sort of way, but not more than that. I mean, I admit I have had feelings for him lately, but I just..." Kate rushed together beneath the muffle of the pillows.

"Dear Lord, I don't even know you anymore! Do you have any idea how many times you just said 'I mean' ?" Angelina sighed. "What happened to you?"

"I'm not one to kiss and tell!" Kate whined. Then, realizing what she had said, she cupped a hand to her mouth and drew in a sharp breath.

Angelina fell silent as a look of shock covered her face. heard as well. Hermione and Ginny stared in disbelief. They all gazed ominously at Kate.

Kate slowly pulled her hand away from her face and observed the eyes that goggled at her.

"Um, excuse me?" Angelina gawked. "Weren't you the one who said you would never, ever be with him?"

"Maybe I said those words separately on some occasions..." Kate trailed off, refusing to make eye contact with anyone in the room. She all felt a hot judgmental feeling from them.

"Finally!" Ginny squealed. "I mean, it was only a matter of time before you two, you know..." she trailed off.

"No! No! Just stop talking! We are not, and I repeat, are NOT, together in that way." Kate stressed.

"Yet." Angelina added with a smirk.

"Kate, you don't need to sound so embarrassed about it. If it were me, I'd gloating my guts out!" Ginny grinned.

Kate sighed. "I am happy about it, but I just wish you all weren't reacting this way!"

"You will tell us what happened, won't you?" Ginny asked eagerly.

"It's a very personal moment!" Kate squeaked.

"But, not doubt it was romantic, right? That is the part we want to hear!" Ginny implored.

"We?" Angelina and Hermione said in unison.

"Oh, please, you act like you don't care about romance. Angelina, you're floating around Fred Weasley every other moment, and Hermione, if you spent one moment in the library without Victor Krum I would be overly astounded." Ginny chastised. Angelina and Hermione looked down at their feet.

"So, Kate, how did it happen?" Ginny questioned again, leaning in closer.

"No!" Kate threw herself into her pillows, fuming madly. She hadn't wanted this to happen. It was her moment, they didn't need to know about it! Couldn't they just leave her be?

Sensing they were not going to get what they wanted, Angelina, Hermione, and Ginny reluctantly traveled back to their beds separately. Kate was relieved when they were finally gone. Sure, they were her friends, but she just didn't feel like she could talk about what had happened. Not yet, at least.

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The next morning Kate felt herself still buzzing. She was wondering what it was going to be like between them now. Would he kiss her again? In front of everyone? It was certainly nerve-racking. She wished he would.

She walked cautiously to breakfast with Angelina and Hermione. Every step she took brought new anticipations. Millions of apprehensive questions filled her mind as she noticed just how cold her fingers were.

"Kate, are you...that nervous?" Angelina said, her tone changing from worried to accusational in the middle of the sentence.

"Wouldn't you be?" Kate spat out, squeezing her eyes shut. It was a rather inconvenient time to do this, as they were at the top of the marble stair case and she stumbled down the first few steps.

"Maybe I would understand better if you'd let up about what happened." Angelina trailed off, casting a suspicious look at Kate.

Kate looked taken aback. "My God, you make it sound like it was some sleazy night."

"Well, without further proof..." Hermione replied slyly.

Kate turned on them angrily. "Oh, bother! All we did was kiss. There, are you happy?" she spat out.

Angelina and Hermione nodded in unison. They entered the Great Hall.

Kate's eyes immediately darted to the Hufflepuff table. She saw Cedric's familiar chocolate colored hair in between a few other lads. She smiled to herself, a rupture of nervousness breaking out in her stomach.

As if his senses told him she were there, Cedric looked up merrily and smiled nervously as she walked down the isle towards her regular place on the Gryffindor table. Their eyes met for a piercing and non-regrettable moment, before Fred Weasley called out, "Oi, Kate! Angelina!"

Kate and Angelina sat down a happily returned the Good Morning. Hermione sat down gruffly, apparently insulted from the lack of hello to her. But she quickly got over it as she began talking to Lavender Brown.

Of course, Fred and George wanted to know how her "big night" with Cedric had gone. Sensing what they were implying, she retorted, "Oh, shut up. You're just jealous because you can't get any."

They thought she was teasing. She was, partly.

Throughout breakfast she became more nervous and nervous. It was Saturday, so they wouldn't have any classes. So it wasn't like she had an excuse to go talk to him. But she was wondering, did she really need an excuse anymore? She thought she had enough ground to just go talk to him. Why was she still so nervous?

She found herself quite disappointed that he wasn't jumping up to greet her good morning and embracing her in his arms, even though she would be quite embarrassed if he actually _did_ do that. But for him to only smile at her and then let it be made her feel somewhat uneasy, and a tad nervous. What, just _what _was going on in his mind. He wasn't having second thoughts was he? He wasn't sitting there at the Hufflepuff table, putting on a facade of happiness, but really on the inside, thinking _Oh man, I kissed her? What was I thinking! _

Kate's insides lurched at these thoughts. She hated worrying like this. She felt like an canvas, and Cedric was her painter. Every stroke he made mattered immensely to her. It seemed like everything he did, every little move, every word, was of uncomparable importance.

Her insides stirred as she slowly returned to the Gryffindor common room. Her skin tingled with an insatiable sensation. Stop worrying, she told herself. But somehow, she just couldn't stop. Her thoughts pervasiveness was overwhelming, and she found herself quite tired, despite the fact she had only woken up a few hours previous.

"Really, Kate, you haven't said one word since we returned from breakfast. Are you feeling alright?" Angelina asked, a deep look of concern spreading across her face.

Kate figured the grim expression on her face must have looked especially bad. She tried to compose her thought momentarily and said, "No, I'm just a bit tired..." she said in an exaggeratedly exasperated voice.

Kate, trying to draw attention from her condition, looked around the room in a frantic matter. She noticed that Fred and George were not in there usual spot near the back of the room at a table, exchanging a strange vernacular of words that undoubtedly had to do with some sort of magical "whizzes" they had invented.

"Where are Fred and George?" She asked in a somewhat motherly tone.

"In the library, they said." Angelina answered. Reading the blank expression that crossed Kate's face, she added, "I know, I was surprised, too. But they assured me it had to do with their–ahem–extra-curricular activities."

Kate smirked, and sat back in the thick carmine armchair. She tucked her feet up underneath her, and she opened her large potions book to a page about burn-healing mixtures. She made an imitation retching motion before she began reading.

It seemed as if moments later, after Kate had merely read a measly three paragraphs–which equated to one-half of the page–Fred and George returned from their pursuing escapade in the library. They both wore smug expressions on their faces, which made Kate guess that they had been caught in the restricted section again and been thrown out by Madame Pince. They stomped grimly back to their usual seats in the back before resuming their strange talk.

"Imagine this, we mix some instant hair grower with body wash..." Kate over heard George say. She couldn't help but snort out some laughter.

"What was that, Kate?" Fred asked nonchalantly, turning towards her direction in his chair.

"Oh, by the way, Kate, your, er, 'friend' Diggory was in the library. I can see just how torn up you are that you haven't spoken to him today, so I thought I'd let you know." George added on, sniggering.

Kate scrunched up her nose at him, despite the fact that that was exactly how she was feeling.

She didn't want to make it seem to obvious that she wanted to see him. She waited for another quarter of an hour, while leafing through the aging pages of her potions book, before snapping it shut and declaring in a careless voice, "Well, it seems that I am going to need some further research to finish this assignment, so I will be off to the library." She tried to make it not too rushed, but she feared it came out sounding cloudy.

Her feet took her very fast. She was almost gliding she was moving so rapidly. It seemed as if in mere moments she arrived.

The moment she stepped into that warm, inviting environment of the library, which she usually loved and indulged in, her mind was filled with agitated questions. Who was he, to just not say anything to her? You can't kiss someone and then make a vow of silence!

And yes, Kate considered this a vow of silence.

She stomped over to where she recognized Cedric's curly brown head poking up over the back of a couch.

He was wearing glasses, Kate speculated. What business did he have wearing glasses! She thought irrationally.

He had no business at all.

Cedric seemed to sense Kate approaching(or maybe it was just her loud stomping that made sharp echoes churn through the library, receiving dirty looks from Madame Pince) and he turned around to look. Upon her grace entering his vision, he couldn't help but smile, and begin to say, "Why, Kate..." but he was abruptly cut off but Kate's irritated voice.

"Whaddyathinkyerdoing?" she spat out in a long rush of words.

"Er...excuse me?" He asked.

"I mean, you kiss me, then you just...don't say anything today! You can't just do that!" Kate fumed, throwing her arms out her sides for emphasis.

"Um, well, then...what do you want, exactly?" Cedric asked, snapping the worn book he had in his hands shut.

"I want to know what this is between us!" Kate demanded. They had attracted the eyes of many students elsewhere in the library. Madame Pince was giving them the look of an executioner about to chop off someone's head.

"Well, I guess it means..." Cedric trailed off, looking around the room in a day-dream manner. He tapped his fingers nonchalantly on his book. He was trying to look casual, Kate knew that; but she could tell from the slight read growing on his cheeks that she had hit a spot he had given a great thought to.

"How about...it means that you and I...are together?" Cedric placed his book on the couch, then stood up. He stood directly in front of Kate, quite close to her; their eyes locking together. Kate felt her cheeks flush as his sweet aroma intoxicated her.

"Well, that sounds pretty good." She replied, watching herself speak in the transparent reflection of his glasses. She didn't feel the need to ask him why he had them.

"Well, then, it's set." He said frankly.

And he placed his hand delicately under her chin, turning her face up towards his, and brought his lips down until they were crushing hers.

Kate felt sure she should be embarrassed–after all, there were many of her peers there, watching them. But she didn't care. She was blissfully happy. She pushed back with her lips against his, tasting the sweetness of his lips.

All she could seem to think, as his lips pulled away from hers, were such simple words in was infectious. Infectiously wonderful.

_Ain't love the sweetest thing?_

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A/N: Thanks for the reviews and whatnot! I hoped you like this...I'm gonna need a lot of feedback to keep me going, so please please review! Tell your friends to review! (Just kidding.) Much love! I will update as soon as I can...

Have a good day, my lovelies!

Oh this story is the second Cedric fic to have over 40,000 words! Huzzah!

Please review!


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